For Now, Forever
by mirastel
Summary: Chapter 12 up! What happens when new-girl Sakura catches Sasuke's eye? What happens when she says the forbidden three words to him? what happens when she has to meet his PARENTS? Oh, how will they survive high-school! How does anyone, for that matter?
1. New Kid

**Hello! I figured, since my other fan-fic isn't going so well, that I would try another one. That doesn't mean I'm going to give up on my other one, but, y'know. Besides, I've had this in my mind for a while and want to see if anyone likes it. So, here goes everything!!!!**

Sakura stood outside the classroom door that read **124** and sighed. She pilled nervously at her mandatory red and black plaid skirt and white blouse. She was the new student. And as a Junior in high school, this first impression could either make or break her reputation for the next 6 months in the school.

You see, Sakura transferred schools a lot. The death of her parents as a young girl had placed her in an orphanage that changed places a lot, depending on where there were new children to help. It had recently landed her in this uniform high school (Sakura hadn't know such things existed anymore) to complete her school year from January till June. After that, well, she would just have tom wait and see.

This morning Sakura had gotten dressed carefully, trying to make the uniform look somewhat flattering on her. She was glad for the silence that came from her home on the outskirts of town, and silently thanked herself for being old enough to live on her own. As she walked down the empty corridors of the school, Sakura had felt confident that she would make friends, however scarce they would be.

Now, standing outside the door that could doom or save her, that confidence was gone. Deep inside, she knew she would never fit in well, but resigned herself to that fate and pushed open the door.

Thankfully, the teacher was already at her desk, and turned expectantly towards the door opening. She looked kind, with wavy black hair and scarlet eyes. (A/N. Just guess who it is ) "You must be the new student," she said, looking down at the memo she had received from the office that morning. "Sakura Haruno, is it?" When she nodded, the teacher looked around the room for a vacant seat. There was only one.

"Well, I wish you had a bit more variety," the teacher said apologetically as Sakura walked towards her seat, "but maybe it is better this way." When Sakura looked at her confused, the teacher merely smiled and went back to looking at her papers.

Placing her messenger bag (A/N. I love those, so she has one. If you don't what they are….Sorry, I can't really help you there!) on the floor and looked around her seat. She was in the back of the room, and there were only two desks back there- hers, and a boy's. She looked towards him and immediately knew she would not like him. He had black spiky hair and dark eyes. He was leaning back with his feet on his desk and his arms behind his neck. His red tie was loose and his khaki pants slightly baggy. His whole demeanor said "Popular" and, more importantly, "Jerk".

He, on the other hand, glanced with interest at the girl seated next to him. She had long pink hair (A/N. no ribbon. In this they don't have the forehead protectors and she hasn't met Ino yet. It is a mesh between Naruto and the real world) and large, catlike green eyes. Her blouse and skirt fit her nicely, in the eyes of the male population at least, and her knee-high black socks shaped her legs. Looking down, he saw her feet were small, judging by the size of her shiny black flats (type of shoes).

Swinging his feet down and turning to face Sakura, the boy stuck out his hand to greet her. "Sasuke Uchiha. It's, uh, a pleasure to meet you." He said smirking. Sakura stared at him. _He really is attractive….but I'm not falling for that!_ She thought. She smiled sweetly and took his hand. "Same to you." She replied.

"So, d'you know about the tradition here, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, his smirk spreading. Sakura didn't like the look on his face, but was too curious to not answer.

"I don't think so, could you enlighten me?" Sasuke caught the sarcasm, but that only encouraged it from him. _This will be fun._ Her thought.

"Certainly. If you will glance around the classroom, you'll notice that there are many 'pairs' of boys and girls." Looking around, Sakura _did_ notice it. A girl with the whitest eyes she had ever seen was talking shyly with a blonde boy with blue eyes. Another with two symmetrical buns on the top of her head was laughing with a boy whose eyes matched the shy girl. Also, a girl with an annoyingly high pony-tail and blue eyes was looking mischievously at a boy who looked like he couldn't care less, but would steal glances at her when she wasn't looking. It was odd that she hadn't noticed it before.

"So?" she asked Sasuke, who she noticed was not in the clutches of any of his obvious fans staring at him.

"So, whenever a new student comes into school, especially, but not limited to, a girl, it is the solemn duty," this he said bringing a fist to his chest in a mock-honorable pose, "of a member of the opposite gender to protect her from hoards of unworthy vultures trying to capture him or her for their own purposes." He finished. Sakura was confused. She closed her eyes and thought it out.

"You're basically saying they become boyfriend-girlfriend, right?" she tried.

"You could put it like that, I suppose." Sasuke replied, his grin growing larger b the second.

"Well how would said person ever know if they had been 'chosen' by a boy?" Sakura challenged. At this, Sasuke leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "She'd be kissed, of course."

Sakura felt her spine tingle, and leaned away. Sasuke was looking at her as if he had only one intention, and that gave her the strangest feeling. She did not want to like him, but his eyes seemed to be making that impossible. Thankfully, the bell rang and she hurried out into the hall. Sasuke looked after her. _Oh yes, this is going to be very fun!_

Slamming her locker shut, Sakura walked silently into her next class, Chemistry. The morning did not go exactly as she had planned. She took a seat and looked at the pros and cons of her current situation.

PRO: She wasn't hated by anyone yet!

CON: She wasn't liked, either.

PRO: She was sure Sasuke was popular, and he didn't show any signs of hating her. There was even a slight hint he might like her!

CON: He liked her in the wrong way.

She sighed! It was not use. She would have to deal with this problem on her own. Sakura buried her head in her hands, _why_ did it have to be her. _Why????_ She didn't even notice the seat next to her being occupied.

"You know, I never finished telling you about the tradition." A voice next to her said. Sakura's head shot up. _Oh, no! _She thought. She lifted her head and turned, slowly, towards the person sitting next to her. She had had her eyes shut, but now she opened one just a crack. That was all she needed. She felt a bit of dismay rise up in her as she saw that Sasuke Uchiha was sitting next to her.

"Why are _you_ here?" she wailed. Sasuke smirked and held up a letter.

"They assigned me to be your partner. I'm sorry that you feel so horribly about it." He replied. Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but was silenced when the teacher entered the room. He had white hair and a mask that covered most of his face. His right eye was covered and he was reading an orange book. Sakura crinkled her nose in disgust. _Why would this school hire a teacher who reads such things?_ She thought to herself. Sasuke noticed how cute she looked when she made that face.

"All right class," said the teacher while still submerged in his book, "today we are going to experiment with different chemicals to determine which one would be best for fuel. You will notice the test tubes inn front of you. Use only these materials. You have 30 minutes. Go."

Sakura was still pondering her misfortune of having Sasuke as a partner. She grabbed a random tube and stuck it above the burner. "Why would they assign _you_ as my partner?" she mused aloud.

"I don't know," Sasuke began. Sakura reached towards the switch to begin the fire. Sasuke reached over and pulled her hand away. She stared at him with a surprised expression on her face. "Maybe to keep you from blowing up the entire school." Clearly confused, Sasuke elaborated.

With his free hand, Sasuke pointed at the tube Sakura had put above the burner. "Nitroglycerin." He stated. Sakura's eyes widened. "As a raw material, it is a powerful explosive. If you had lit that fire, everyone here would be dead!"

Sauke had watched Sakura's entire randomization process, and knew she didn't do it on purpose. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "I had not idea I did that!"

"That's what I'm here for, Sakura." Sasuke replied softly. Sakura then noticed he was still holding her hand, and blushed. She quickly pulled it away and stammered out a "Thank you".

After a few minutes of combining the materials and awkward silence, Sakura asked the question that had been bothering her for some time.

"Wait, how did you know that was nitroglycerin?" Sasuke smirked again.

"I'm not stupid, Sakura. I do know what I'm doing." Sakura blushed deeper. It had been exceedingly shallow of her to assume she was smarter than him.

"I-I'm….Thanks again, Sasuke. Really. If there is any way I can repay you…." She began, meaning it, but hoping he would not take up her offer. However, the boy grinned and his eyes sparkled devilishly. Dismay filled the heart of the pink haired girl, as she had a pretty good idea of what he wanted.

"You know," Sasuke said, leaning closer. "A kiss would be nice." Sakura gulped, but did not move back. He had saved her life, and this would be the kind thing to do. Fortunately the bell rang when Sasuke was just millimeters away, and she put up her textbook as a shield. Sasuke's lips made contact with that, and he backed away, sputtering.

"Well, maybe another time, Sasuke." Said Sakura hurriedly, "But, you know, I have to get to class! See ya!" Sakura rushed out of the room, her heart beating wildly. She had been so close to kissing Sasuke. She felt relief wash through her body and, surprisingly, a pang of regret.

_What's wrong with me?_ She thought. _I don't _actually_ want to kiss him….do I?_ Sakura's confused feelings occupied her mind throughout History and Math which, thankfully, Sasuke was not in and therefore did not sit next to her. She was still mulling over them when she opened the doors of the next period and looked up.

Dread filled her body. _No…this can't be now!_ She had followed the crowd of students and had found herself in the one place every person in high school dreads on their first day of school. This place destroyed lives, reputations, and could mark you as a social outcast for the rest of your life. Feared by all new students, this place was even worse late in the year, when everyone was accustomed to each other and happily chatting the way.

Sakura gulped.

_The cafeteria._

**Well, first chapter is done! I know, it isn't that long. But it is really hard to make it long and leave room for other chapters at the same time. **

**A lot of people must be thinking, "What's up with Sasuke?" Yeah, he seems a little….you know, in this chapter. But really what he is a guy who is accustomed to getting whatever he wants. He is, right now, cocky and not the least bit afraid of approaching a girl. Inside, though, he is supposed to be sweet and kind to Sakura. (Oops! Not there yet!)**

**Anyways, tell me what you think!**

**One more thing: should I have Itachi and Sasuke's parents alive, and Itachi the nice brother? Or should Sasuke be living alone as a really rich guy who inherited all his money? It is up to you!**


	2. Gossip

**Let me start off by saying thank you to everyone who reviewed!!!! You have made me so happy!!!! And, as and extra bonus, no one hated my story!!!! Right now, 6 people want Itachi + the parents alive, and 2 not. One wants Itachi to be mean, and one, I think, nice. Either way, I think I will keep Itachi alive. But, as for the parents, well, that chapter is a bit farther away (they are not in it for much, anyways). So I think I will accept a few more votes before I decide. Thanks again! Enjoy….**

Sakura put her hand on her head, feeling dizzy. She was so nervous about where she was going to sit. If she sat with the "wrong" group, she would be scarred for the rest of her life. If she sat with the "right" group, though, she would have no trouble being accepted. (A/N. A sad truth, isn't it?) Simple, right?

Wrong.

First of all, she had no idea _who_ the "right" people were. And even if she did know, who's to say they would actually accept her. Sakura began to get really scared, biting down on her lowerlip so hard that she almost drew blood. She was just about to run out of the school, screaming at the top of her lungs, and hide under her bed for the rest of her life (A/N. hasn't everyone felt that way at least once?) when she heard the voice of an angel.

"Hey, new kid! Sit over here!" Relief flooded through Sakura's entire being. She really didn't care whether or not they were they In- Crowd, she just didn't want to spend all lunch standing in the middle of the floor like a total idiot. She hurriedly rushed over to the table, where the girls from her homeroom were waving her over.

"Hi." Sakura said. "I'm Sakura."

"Ino." said the girl with the high ponytail, as a way of introducing herself.

"I-I'm Hinata." The girl with the pale, pale eyes whispered shyly.

"And I'm TenTen!" the two-bunned girl said energetically. "Nice to meet you!" The girls resumed chatting after this, obviously finishing a conversation before turning their attention to the pink-haired newcomer. Sakura took this chance to look around the room.

The members of each table were grouped according to their, eh-hem, "personality", for wont of a better word. There was a table of students with multiple face-piercings and dark clothes, sullenly mumbling their hatred for the world to the other, equally depressed teens.

Another was occupied by an assortment of large males, practically shouting to each other, although it was unnecessary. In other words, the jocks.

With all her looking around, Sakura determined, with a bit of ecstasy, that she was actually sitting at the "Cool Girls" table. She would belong! She had a sudden urge to see where Sasuke was sitting, and noticed he was at a table somewhat near her own. She did not even have to scan the room again to know that that was the "Cool Boys" table. He was with the other boys from her homeroom, feet on the table, in the ultimate cool-pose. Every few seconds, a group of girls, giggling furiously, would walk by and wave at him. He ignored them all. Surprisingly, this made Sakura feel happy and even more at ease. That is, until he looked up, caught her staring, and gave her a haughty smirk. She quickly turned away, only to find the other girls had stopped talking and had seen the whole thing.

"So, why didn't you tell us you and Sasuke were together?" asked TenTen, as more of an excited statement than an actual question.

"W-what?!!!!!??? We are not together! Why would you think that????!!!?!?!?!" Sakura said, all the while blushing like crazy. The others just laughed.

"Then why are you blushing, Sakura?" laughed Ino. "Besides," she said solemnly appraising him, "he isn't bad." The others nodded in agreement. "Of course, I wouldn't give up my Shikamaru for the world!" she added hurriedly.

"Which one is he?" Sakura asked, looking over. Hinata and TenTen tried to restrain their giggles.

"The one with the pineapple head!" they said together, bursting out into more laughter. Ino looked furious.

"Yeah, well at least he doesn't wear orange whenever possible! Or takes school so seriously he forgets my birthday!" she said, instantly silencing Hinata and TenTen. An awkward silence reigned over the table, and Sakura attempted to break it.

"Uh, Hinata. Who do you go out with?" she asked, curious about who Ino was talking about.

"Naruto." She said, pointing at the boy with blond, spiky hair. "And you, TenTen?" she asked.

"Neji." She replied, looking at the boy whose eyes looked like Hinata's. Sakura spent the next couple of seconds staring at Hinata, then swooping her head to look at Neji, then back to Hinata, etc.

"Is he your brother?" she asked innocently, but with a slight hint of disgust. Hinata ignored this last part and replied, "No, my cousin. He kinda hates me though." At which point all the other girls began consoling her, giving Sakura another chance to look around.

Sakura noticed that, although it was lunchtime, very little eating was going on. It was all Gossip Gossip Gossip. She sighed: she was never very good at gossiping, and she didn't really like it. However, it was obviously the main, important, fastest, and sometimes unreliable source of information at the school. Which is why she was terrified Sasuke had started a rumor they were "together".

"Sakura." Sakura turned to see the other members of her table staring at her with very serious faces. It was TenTen who had spoken, and now she continued:

"You need to let Sasuke kiss you." Sakura later said that she felt nothing les than absolute shock at this statement. She thought TenTen was the most sensible of the group, and here she was stating that Sakura should let this arrogant jerk- albeit, a _hot_ one- kiss her! What was everyone's problem?

"Look, TenTen." started Sakura, attempting to explain her position, "It's my first day, and I'm not really thinking about-." But she was cut short by Hinata.

"No, Sakura. You _need _to let him kiss you." Hinata too? Something was definitely wrong here, but the pink-haired girl decided to humor them.

"Why?" she asked, trying to look sweet and innocent. This time, Ino spoke.

"First of all, it is obvious he is interested in you, and he's not going to give up until he kisses you. Secondly, we _know_ you like him- you're not very good at hiding that." Sakura blushed. She didn't know her feelings for Sasuke that well yet, but still…. She began to protest, however Ino was not finished.

"Lastly, and this is most important, it is _dangerous_ for you not to let him kiss you!" Sakura blinked. _Well that was unexpected!_

"But why is it dangerous? Is he going to hurt me?" She couldn't help but feel afraid that Sasuke was going to harm her, he undoubtedly could, of course! But TenTen shook her head.

"No, it isn't like that! It's just that--." But the shrill sounding bell cut her off. Immediately, Sakura was swept away by the sudden onrush of students hurrying to classes. "But wait!" she called. "TenTen! Why is it--?" Sadly, TenTen could not hear her over the noise, and Sakura had no choice but to move with the crowd. Little did she know a pair of eyes followed her the entire way….

Sakura walked down the nearly empty hallway to her last class. She had had a semi-enjoyable study period, but was slightly put-out that Sasuke wasn't there. Then again, she had experienced a feeling of elation when she saw she would not have to endure any of his "antics". Nevertheless, she felt an unmistakable sense of apprehension, as she was still pondering what the other girls had said (she was not quite ready to call them friends).

"Sakura." Sakura turned. To her surprise, it was none other than Neji who had called her name. She slowed to wait for him, curious as to why he had called out to her.

"Hey." She said to him. "What's up?"

"TenTen told me about your conversation at lunch." he said plainly. Sakura didn't know how to respond.

"Oh, well, good?" She was a bit confused about what this was all about.

"She asked me to talk to you about Sasuke." It was all Sakura could do to suppress a groan. "Why is everyone so anxious to have me kiss him? What if I don't even like him, hmmmm?" Neji raised his eyes, plainly stating that there was no chance of that, and he knew it. Sakura's eyes flitted to the ground. "Why is it such a big deal?" she said more quietly. "I just don't understand."

"Sakura," said Neji, stopping to look her directly in the eye. He was being firm, but slightly understanding. "There are crazy people in this school. We just don't want you to get hurt."

"Why would I get hurt?" she asked a bit desperately. "Why?" But before Neji could answer, another voice sounded behind her.

"Because you're so attractive to guys like me." Sakura's head whipped around and saw those intense onyx eyes staring straight back at her. "Are you everywhere?" she asked, honestly thinking he was. Sasuke smirked and turned to Neji.

"You trying to steal her from me, Neji?" he said jokingly, putting his arm around Sakura's shoulders. She looked at her arms. Goosebumps. Why was she feeling this way?

Neji laughed. "See you guys! Better go find TenTen." He turned and left, leaving the two students alone.

They started walking towards Sakura's next class, Sasuke's arm still around her shoulder. Snapping out of her reverie, Sakura spun around to face him, and his arm slid off.

"One," Sakura said, hands on hips and facing Sasuke. "I am _**not**_ YOURS. Two, who do you keep following me around? Three, WHERE are you going?" When Sasuke smirked, Sakura boiled with rage. But when he tilted her chin up to his face, she almost melted inside.

"You're not mine yet, Sakura." Sasuke said. He started to walk away. "And if you don't want to be late for English, you had better hurry.

"You-you're in my class?"

"Yup."

Sakura once again ended up next to Sasuke. She had no idea what she was feeling. She wanted to slap him, scream at him, push him over, and kiss him all at the same time. It was all she could do not to look at him during class. If she did, she knew something bad would happen.

!0…

9…

8…

Sakura's eyes were glued to the clock, counting the seconds to her freedom.

3…

2…

1…

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

Sakura never heard anything so wonderful as that bell. She flew out the door and to her locker, then headed outside. When she got there, she groaned: a nice 5 mile walk was ahead of her to her house. And it was HOT!!!!

"Need a lift?" Sakura saw Sasuke standing next to a glossy red Ferrari. She was torn: half of her wanted to jump into that car and get a ride home, the other…. the other wanted to stay as far away as possible. The side of her that felt as if it would burst into flames won, and she nodded to Sasuke.

"Hop in."

Sakura sat nervously in Sasuke's car. It was odd, but undoubtedly cool. The front seat was exactly like the back, with no space between the passenger and driver's seats. Sasuke was driving with one hand on the side of the car, and the radio was on. Neither one of them was really listening, though. Sakura could tell that even Sasuke felt a little awkward.

The radio suddenly started playing (A/N. And here is where my own personal taste in music comes out. DON'T LAUGH!!!! ) Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy. Sakura could not suppress a small squeal of excitement. She loved them, and this was one of her favorite songs.

"I love this song!" she said to Sasuke, temporarily forgetting where she was, and with who.

"Yeah, me too." he replied easily. They began discussing their favorite bands, and found they had a lot in common. Sakura actually felt sad when they arrived at her house, and hesitated before getting out.

"Thanks for the ride, Sasuke." she said. "I would have _hated_ to walk in this heat."

"No problem. It was my pleasure." He grinned. A real, honest-to-goodness grin from Sasuke Uchiha. It was infectious, and Sakura couldn't help smiling brightly back. Sasuke stared. _She's even prettier when she smiles._ He thought. Gradually their smiles faded, and both began to lean towards each other, as if to kiss.

A honk from a car horn snapped Sakura back to her senses, and she leapt out of the car. Sasuke, unfortunately, was not as quick. He fell forward in the car, and sat back up, cursing his ill-luck. _That's the second time today she got me!_ He thought grumpily.

"Thanks again, Sasuke!" Sakura yelled to him, waving as she shut the door. Sasuke smirked. _But this girl is definitely worth it!_

**Wow! It took longer than I expected! How did it go? I kind of had to put a lot in this, to make it long enough for my liking. Thanks again for everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoy the rest of this story!**


	3. Zaku

**THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is really nice when I learn people like my story, and it encourages me to get chapters up faster! Ha ha ha….**

**It looks like a lot of people want Itachi alive, so he is going to be. And Sasuke's parents too (helps with awkward moments ******

**Chapter Note: Just as a warning, Sasuke is REALLY immature in this chapter. He won't stay like that, though, so don't worry.**

**Without any further ado, here is the latest installment:**

_The next day…._

Sakura quietly shut the door to her house. There was really no need: no one else lived near her, and there were no other people living with her like there were at the orphanage. Still, Sakura always woke up early to trek the five miles to school, and it was often quiet outside. She did not feel compelled to break the silence-indeed she found it relaxing.

She thought about yesterday, how Sasuke had given her a ride, and how she had had her first real conversation with him. If it weren't for the fact that he was endlessly pursuing her, they might have become friends.

And yet….

Sakura could not deny that Sasuke had some sort of a spell over her, but she would never let _him_ know that. No, she would just have to play it safe until she found out whether he liked her for her…or for other reasons.

Locking the door, Sakura turned towards the long stretch of concrete, expecting to find it deserted, as always. You can imagine how shocked she was to see none other than Sasuke Uchiha casually leaning against a pole, waiting for her.

"Sa-Sasuke?" Sakura stammered. He smirked. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Walking you to school." he replied, and walked over to her.

"But why would you _want_ to?" Sakura countered. "I mean, you _know_ how long the walk is, and you do _have_ a car. So….why?" Sasuke sighed and tried to put his arm around her shoulders, but Sakura moved away, wanting an answer to her question.

"Sakura, I think you're missing the point." Sasuke replied. "I don't _have_ to walk you to school. I _want_ to."

For the first mile on their journey to school, nothing had been said between Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke kept his cool demeanor, walking in a laid-back style with his hands in his pockets. Sakura was noticeably nervous, fiddling with the strap of her bag. After a while, the tension between the two was so strong, Sakura felt like she was going to burst. Gathering all the nerves she had in her, she decided to break this silence and ask a question she had been dying to ask ever since Sasuke told her he _wanted_ to walk her to school.

"Why?" she said quietly. Sasuke turned and stared at her.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to walk me to school?" This surprised Sasuke. He hadn't expected her to ask him that, and he didn't really want to answer. For once, he could hardly speak.

"Well…um…you know." he managed weakly, desperately praying she would not question any more. Sadly, his prayers were not answered.

"No, Sasuke, I don't know." Sakura said softly, raising her eyes to meet his. "That's why I am asking you."

Sasuke couldn't handle looking at Sakura's eyes, so he looked down instead. Sakura noticed he blushed ever so slightly. But when he gave his reply to her, he was all business and his attitude had returned.

"Because I like you, is that good enough?" he said. Sakura gave a small smile, but didn't reply. The silence was welcome now, and there was no more conversation between the two of them.

At the front steps of the school, Sakura turned to face Sasuke.

"Thanks for walking me to school Sasuke. It was, um, really nice of you." she said, trying her hardest to avoid blushing when she noticed people staring at them. But Sasuke wasn't listening. His eyes were turned to the top steps, where a dark haired, thin eyed, slouched over kid was descending and heading right towards them.

Sasuke moved slightly in front of Sakura, which puzzled the girl. The stranger had a friendly grin on his face and she wanted to meet him.

"Sasuke? What's going on?" she asked.

"Just stay back, Sakura. This guy's trouble." Sakura hardly believed this. And when he was close enough to them, she returned his smile with one of her own.

The boy roughly pushed Sasuke aside, and stood facing Sakura with a hand out.

"I'm Zaku." he said, grinning.

"Hi. I'm Sakura. Nice to meet you." she said kindly, shaking Zaku's hand.

"Can I walk you to class?" he asked politely and, after she accepted, took Sakura's bag and escorted her inside. Sasuke fumed.

Sakura was surprised to learn what a nice person Zaku was. He was always courteous; asking her questions about herself, something Sasuke hadn't done once. He also had a sense of humor, and made her laugh a few times. _Sasuke was never this nice to me_ she thought. _Granted, he walked me to school, but we barely even talked! Zaku has already been a nicer person to me than Sasuke ever was._

Though her mind felt this was true in theory, something didn't sit right with Sakura about Zaku. Why hadn't she noticed him before? And why was Sasuke so protective once he saw him? And why didn't she care how nice Zaku was, why did she still rather be with Sasuke?

These questions bothered her, but Sakura wouldn't let herself show it. She was convinced Zaku was just being a gentleman, and tried to enjoy his company. When they got to her classroom, he took her hand and kissed it softly. A chill ran up Sakura's spine, but strangely not in a good way.

She entered the room and everything went silent.

Sasuke was standing in the back, arms crossed and a mix of anger and concern in his eyes. If it was not for the fact that she knew he had been waiting for her, Sakura would have laughed out loud: he looked like a mother waiting for a child who had not met curfew.

Sakura walked calmly to her seat, knowing a confrontation was imminent.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke immediately asked.

"I'm fine." she said, sitting down. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sasuke relax.

"Sakura," he started. She turned to face him, arms crossed.

"What?" she said. She was surprised by the irritation in her voice; she didn't mean to sound like that. "What is it?" she asked more softly. She could see Sasuke trying to find the right words, but at that moment the teacher walked in. Everyone took their seats and began chatting to each other. Sakura turned away from Sasuke and started to daydream.

_She was in a gorgeous red gown in an amazing garden. It was night, and the moon was full. The stars glittered above her as she waited on a bench for her mysterious date to arrive._

"_Sakura." The voice was familiar; smooth and deep. She turned slowly. It was Zaku._

"_I've been waiting for you." she said as he sat down. They leaned towards each other, but something was happening to Zaku's face._

_It was changing. The eyes became dark and intense, and the hair turned raven-colored. Sakura was now facing Sasuke and about to kiss him._

"_Sakura." he said. _

"_Yes, Sasuke?"_

"_Sakura."_

"_What?"_

"_SAKURA!!!!"_

Sakura sat straight up. She looked up and saw Sasuke staring at her.

"The bell just rang; it's time for 1st period."

"Oh, thanks." Sakura hastily stood up and started to walk forward, but tripped as a result of her haste. She fell forward, but was caught by Sasuke. She looked up and blushed: their faces were almost touching. Sasuke smirked as a flustered Sakura stood up and apologized for falling on him. She tried to push past him, but he stopped her.

"Can I walk you to class?"

Sakura froze. That was what Zaku had said. She looked to see if he was joking, but she found only sincerity on his face. _He must be trying to apologize for overreacting about Zaku _she thought. So she smiled and nodded.

"Sakura listen to me!" Sasuke commanded, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around. Their walk to class had come to this disastrous point, and Sakura felt close to tears.

It had started out fine; Sakura and Sasuke both went to their lockers, then had continued on towards Chemistry. Sakura had waved to Zaku in the hall, and he and Sasuke had exchanged glares.

"Honestly, Sasuke, I don't know _what_ your problem is!" she had stated once they had passed him. "He really is nice. And funny, too!" Sasuke had stiffened at this.

"Sakura." Sasuke said in a slightly warning tone. Sakura couldn't take it.

"What, Sasuke? What? What is so wrong with Zaku?" she asked him furiously.

"Everything! You don't get it, do you? He's trouble, and if you get involved with him then--."

"You know what? I don't care!" Sakura was blazing mad. "I don't care if he's a mass murderer or a criminal or anything! But you think you are the most important person in the world and can have anything you want! Well, you're _not_, Sasuke Uchiha, you're NOT!"

"Sakura listen to me!"

Thus the current point in the story has been reached.

Sakura stared up at Sasuke and their eyes met. Sasuke saw the tears welling up in Sakura's eyes and wanted right then to kiss her. It would have been easy: she couldn't get away. But something told him that that would just push her farther away.

Sakura knew Sasuke would kiss her then and there. She wanted him to. But she didn't. She wanted to teach him a lesson; that just because he says someone is trouble, doesn't mean they are. She didn't _like_ Zaku (thus him changing to Sasuke in her fantasy), but she thought they could become friends. Either way, she braced herself for the struggle that would surly ensue between the two of them.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Sasuke was struggling with himself. He wanted so much to protect Sakura, but that would mean kissing her, possibly against her will. But he also wanted to make sure she was happy, which would require letting her go. Sasuke knew, though, that Zaku wouldn't make Sakura happy; she was just being stubborn. Nevertheless, she would have to find out on her own.

Sasuke released Sakura from his grasp. Sakura's eyes went wide.

"We better get to class." Sasuke said before walking away.

Sakura looked sadly at Sasuke. He was "reading" his Chemistry book, like the teacher had told them to do. But Sakura wouldn't even pretend. After the incident in the hall, Sasuke had barely talked to her. She didn't know why, but she felt as though Sasuke wasn't being stubborn. She thought he was trying to help her.

"Um, Sasuke?" she asked him.

"Hm?"

"I…I'm sorry." Sasuke looked at her. Sakura was blushing and he could see regret in her eyes. Sighing, Sasuke felt he should apologize as well. What he had done was completely unacceptable.

"Yeah, me too. Let's just forget about it, okay?" Sakura smiled as the bell rang. The walked to the door and were surprised to see Zaku waiting there.

"Hey Sakura." he said.

"Uh, hi." Sakura replied, glancing a Sasuke. His face was emotionless.

"Since I'm in your next couple of classes, I figured you could use some company getting there."

Sakura hadn't even noticed he was in her classes, and began to see him in a different light. His uniform was even messier than Sasuke's, and not in a way that was attractive at all. He had no bag, which meant he didn't really care about school at all. His grin even frightened Sakura a bit, as though he was always plotting something.

As scared as she was of him, Sakura didn't want to risk his wrath by refusing. She managed a small nod in his direction.

"Good. Now, could you wait up there for a minute." he said in a falsely polite tone. He gave her a light shove on the back to move her and then faced Sasuke.

"Watch your step, Uchiha." Zaku snarled. "You wouldn't want anything happening to your girlfriend, would you?" Sasuke glared. "Oh, you haven't kissed her yet? Even better." He turned to Sakura and the two walked away. Sakura looked back at Sasuke with a desperate look, but he could do nothing as the pair was lost behind the sea of students rushing to their next class.

**A little different from the other chapters, right? Sasuke was so not suave or all-attitude like in the other ones. He will be though….**

**Next chapter: Sakura's friends try to talk some sense into her, which she knows she needs. Sasuke contemplates a way to kiss Sakura first, but **_**with**_** her consent. **

**Up as soon as I can manage!**


	4. Just Friends?

**I'm sorry if this took longer than expected to post, but it is quite hard managing 2 stories at once, and I don't want to neglect one for another. **

**A few people have found the whole kissing thing a little hard to follow. I promise you it will all be explained in the end (not the end of the story, but, well, you'll see :D). **

**I was really surprised that so many people liked this story, so I'm trying to make it longer than I originally planned. Because of this, the chapters may be a little short- I don't want to cram everything into one chapter. **

**This being said, I present to you Chapter Four!**

"Sakura, where are you going in such a hurry?" Sakura froze. She thought she could slip out of her second class with Zaku with ease, but he had caught her.

"Um… the bathroom. And then I have to meet my friends for lunch and I _know_ we aren't in the last two classes together so…bye!" Okay, it was a lame excuse. And she didn't actually _know_ whether or not they were in the same classes for the last two periods, but she _had_ to get away! Zaku was a creep. She hated to admit it, but Sasuke was right.

Sasuke.

She had been thinking of him all day. It wasn't fair of her to yell at him, even if she had apologized. He wanted to make sure she was okay, and had even chosen to walk with her to school.

Thinking of the walk to school reminded Sakura that Sasuke was without a car. This meant he would have to walk home. Sakura hoped he would walk home with her; she wanted to patch things up with him.

Sakura entered the lunchroom along with the customary rush of students. She was waved over to her table and took her seat next to TenTen. There was no finishing of conversations today. It was all business.

"Stop talking to Zaku." Hinata stated. No questions, no teasing, just plain commands.

"Huh?" said Sakura, taken aback. She was just about to talk to them about it, but obviously news spread faster than she could control.

"Sakura please don't act dumb." pleaded TenTen. You know you shouldn't be even associating with him. He's trouble."

"That's what I was going to tell you. And Sasuke said--." Sakura started.

"Oh please don't start blaming Sasuke." an exasperated Ino said. "It isn't his fault."

"I know, I was just going to say tha--."

"No, Sakura. It is our time to say something to you!" TenTen placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders and shook her. "Stop. Talking. To. Zaku!!!!"

"I know! I know! I'm just trying to tell you--."

"I mean it isn't like we don't respect your decisions, Sakura." Ino sighed. "It's just that, with all the gossip that is circulating, it is bad for us too! Our image, you know?"

"No, I realize that. I'm just letting you know--."

"We don't all think about ourselves, Sakura." Hinata said, casting an angry look at Ino. "We don't want you to get hurt, is all."

"I GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed, causing several passer-bys in the vicinity to give her strange looks and hurry past.

"Oh." said TenTen. "Why didn't you say so?"

Cue anime sweat drop.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura. It looked like the girls had done a good job in getting Sakura mad. He sighed. That wasn't the plan. But he turned back to his friends to discuss his more pressing issue.

"Okay guys." Sasuke started. "Here's the problem: Sakura knows Zaku is trouble, I think. But she doesn't want to hang out with him, that's for sure. Unfortunately, we all know how he can be." The others nodded. "So what I need to do is find a way to kiss Sakura before Zaku- but _with_ her consent. I don't want her to do something she doesn't want to."

"Wow, you really like her, don't you?" said Neji. Sasuke mumbled an incoherent response.

"_That's_ your problem?" asked Shikamaru with a slight arrogant tone. The others looked at him. He sighed. "It's simple, really. Since the first day of school, you have shown an interest in Sakura. She, at first, attempted to ignore this interest and to make her own choices. Sadly for her, she could not help being smitten by your, er, 'charms'. When Zaku came along, she thought she could ignore her feelings by substituting him for you. She therefore looked beyond his exterior in hopes of finding a favorable interior. Upon realizing this was not so, meaning now, of course, Sakura became confused. She does not want Sasuke to control her actions, but she also does not want to be alone and not fit in. See? Simple." The others stared blankly at Shikamaru for about 20 seconds, then turned back to their discussion.

"Seeing as genius-boy was soooooo helpful, I'm going to need some more input here." Sasuke said. Shikamaru glared.

"Maybe you could try being nice to her." Naruto suggested.

"Hey, I already walked her to school. What else am I supposed to do?" Sasuke replied. Neji shook his head.

"You're hopeless." he said.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke said, anger in his voice.

"Well, did you _talk_ to her while you were walking?" Neji asked.

"Uh….no really…." Sasuke mumbled.

"Then how do you expect her to like you? I bet you've barely talked to her this entire time!" Neji accused.

"What am I supposed to say? Sakura, you don't know me but I would really like to take you out on a date to some place you don't even know! Oh, by the way, stay away from every other boy in this school or else! How's that?" Naruto laughed, Neji shook his head, and Shikamaru glared.

"I already explained this to all of you!" Shikamaru said in a frustrated voice. "But apparently you couldn't understand plain English!"

"Earth to genius! We all don't have super-high IQs to flaunt to other people!" Sasuke argued.

"Fine, I'll put it in terms your tiny brains can understand!" Sasuke glared, but said nothing. Shikamaru leaned back and put his feet up on the table. "Sakura _does_ like you, but she doesn't want you to kiss her because she feels like she would be under your complete control. She turned to Zaku to teach you a lesson, but it backfired. Now she is struggling to figure out whether she wants to let you kiss her or not."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh….." came the voices of the other three boys. "Why didn't you say so?"

Cue anime sweat drop.

Sasuke shut his locker door. One more class to go, and it was with Sakura! He quickly scanned the hall, and when he noticed she wasn't there, he turned and began to walk to class.

"Hey Sasuke!" came a familiar voice. Sakura pushed through the crowd and caught up to him. Putting on his "cool" act, Sasuke merely nodded inn recognition. On the inside, however, his heart was racing.

"Sup?" _Was that all I could think to say? Dammit! _Sasuke mentally kicked himself.

"Um…well, I just wanted to say that…that….that you were right." Sakura finally managed.

"What else is new?" asked Sasuke coolly. Sakura angrily blushed.

"Oh sure, _Sasuke_ is _always_ right about _everything_! Because _Sasuke_ is so _perfect_! No wonder you don't have a girlfriend!" Sakura retorted. The last comment made Sasuke's blood boil.

"Excuse me?" he said.

"No need to be polite, Sasuke!" Sakura responded.

"What do you mean, that's why I don't have a girlfriend? For your information I could have any girl I wanted in this school!" Sasuke was not only mad, but humiliated.

"Oh really?" Sakura asked. "Then why are you still single?" Sasuke paused- why _was _he still single? Even Naruto had a girlfriend.

"I-I just haven't seen anything I liked." he answered feebly. Sakura saw she had touched a nerve. But instead of continuing to torment Sasuke, she subsided.

"Hey, I get it." Sakura said. "You're just waiting for the right person!"

"Yeah." said Sasuke. _And I think I've found her!_

'So, Sakura." Sasuke began after class. "Do you mind if I walk you home? I mean, part of the way, at least?"

Sakura tried to hide her enthusiasm. "Yeah! I mean, that would be great. Thanks." Sasuke noticed that Sakura had a small smile on her face as she walked towards her locker. "Meet me at the front door?" she said. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

It wasn't as hot as the day before, but it wasn't cool either. Sakura secretly wished that Sasuke had _driven_ her to school, but she didn't want to seem ungrateful.

"Sakura?" asked Sasuke.

"Hmm?" she replied, lost in her own thoughts.

"I don't want to seem rude…but….um, what exactly was I right about?" Sakura came back to her senses. She had forgotten about that.

"Oh. That. I just wanted to tell you that you were right about Zaku. I…he…." Sakura was struggling to find the right words. But Sasuke nodded.

"I get it. I just don't want you to get hurt." Sakura sighed.

"I don't get it, Sasuke. I mean, why would I get hurt, anyways?" Sasuke didn't know how to explain.

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain. See, people like Zaku are…um…" Now it was Sasuke who was struggling, but Sakura wasn't going to let him off the hook.

"Yeah?"

"It's like, he's sorta, 'insensitive' to other people's feelings. Get it?" Sasuke finished desperately. Sakura looked at him blankly.

"No." she said, and they both laughed. "Oh well, I'll just have to figure it out on my own, I guess." she decided. At this Sasuke stiffened. If there was one thing he didn't want Sakura to do, it was that.

"Uh, that's not such a good idea." he tried. The girl looked at him strangely.

"Why not?" she asked. Sasuke groaned.

"It all goes back to the kissing thing." he said. "Now, if you would just let me kiss you…" he began. But Sakura wouldn't have any of it.

"Sasuke, please." she said firmly. "_I_ and only _I_ will decide who kisses me in this school, if anyone." Sasuke began to really worry at this. If Zaku decided to kiss her, there would be nothing she could do about it.

The tension in the air was palpable: Sasuke had apparently crossed some invisible line that only Sakura knew of. She was walking with her head up, looking straight ahead and refusing to even acknowledge Sasuke. _Thank God my turn is coming up!_ He thought to himself.

When the pair reached said turn, Sasuke stopped and faced Sakura.

"I'll see you tomorrow." _What's with me? Can't I think of anything to say?_

"See you tomorrow." Sakura replied with a smile.

"You, uh, want me to walk you to school again?" he asked. Sakura shook he head.

"I have to go in early tomorrow: I came in right after Mid-Terms and the only time I can make up History is tomorrow morning." Sasuke couldn't help but feel sad.

"Okay then." he said a bit sadly. Sakura noticed this and thought for a moment.

"Sasuke, does the kiss count if it is on the cheek?" she inquired.

"No, just on the lips." he responded, lost in his own thoughts. "Why?" He might have been off in his own world, but this was not a question he expected from Sakura, especially after their previous conversations on the matter.

Sakura smiled. She leaned up and placed a small kiss on Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke looked up, stunned. He tried to hide his amazement, but Sakura saw a small pink tint creep onto his face.

"You're a great friend." she said before walking away.

Sasuke touched his cheek as he watched the pink-haired girl walk away. He was overjoyed at her display of affection, but his good feelings were marred by a thought nagging at the back of his mind.

_Just a friend…._

**Duh duh DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **

**It took longer than I expected, this chapter, that is, mainly because I was trying to make it sweet, but funny, and not skip over a lot of stuff. I also tried to make Sasuke more like his old self, did I fail? Probably. Well, I hope you liked this chapter!**


	5. Confrontation and Acceptance

**Once again I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed; I love hearing that everyone likes my story!!!!**

**As I've added more chapters, a lot of people have been confused. I PROMISE that EVERYTHING will be explained in this chapter. If you are still confused, just let me know and I'll clear things up to the best of my ability.**

**By the way, this is NOT the last chapter of the story- I still have a lot to get through. It may **_**seem**_** like an ending, but it isn't. **

**I also realized that my little spacey things between different parts of the story aren't showing up, which may have caused a LOT of confusion. So I'm going to try some different ways of getting them to show up.**

**Now, with all my annoying little side notes out of the way, I present to you chapter number 5!!!!**

Little did Sasuke know, as he walked away with a heavy heart, that Sakura felt just as bad.

_How could I say we were just friends?_ she thought. Sakura didn't mean that at all! She knew that, accepted that, longed to say it, but couldn't. She didn't have the courage.

Now, as she trudged home, miserable except for the fact that she had kissed Sasuke, Sakura turned to the ever present problem of Zaku.

"Okay Sakura," she said to herself, "figure this out! Why don't people like him? What _is_ the danger? Is he apart of it?" She shook her head. It was too much to handle all at once! So, she decided to focus on the more obvious answers.

**Question 1:**** Why don't people like Zaku?**

**Possible Answers:**

1.His appearance- Sakura knew from experience (and just plain sense) that teenagers judged harshly on how one appears. It was unfair, yes, but true. And Zaku _definitely_ did not fit the "requirements" for being accepted into a "cool" group of people.

2.As a result of this "uncool" look, Zaku would most likely be placed in a tougher group. This group tends to revolt the self-proclaimed cool kids. Why? The most probable answer is that they may undermine their strength.

3.For the rest of the school, it is simple: they fear him.

**Question 2:**** What is the danger?**

**Possible Answers:**

1.GAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!! I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. That was irrational. Let's think this through.

3. You're right.

4. Okay, Sasuke and Neji both hinted towards it having something to do with me letting Sasuke kiss me, most likely because he has already showed an interest in me that no one, except Zaku, would dare to challenge. Obviously it has something to do with me being single so….

5. I HAVE NO IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moving on….

**Question 3:**** Is Zaku apart of the danger?**

**Possible Answers:**

1.Yes

2. No

This contemplation being finished, Sakura found herself exactly where she was 20 minutes ago, except for the fact that she was now standing outside her house, that is.

------------------------------------

Sakura sat sleepily in a dimly lit room looking down at her History Mid-Term exam. It had been a pain, having to get up earlier than usual and walking to school, but she had managed. Now, she attempted to focus on the task in front of her; namely, the test.

**Q:** What general during World War II was made to apologize to the entire regiment when he slapped a soldier who had been shell-shocked in the line of battle?

Sakura thought for a moment, then scribbled down "George Patton" on the almost complete form. She had been there for what seemed like ages, but was really only 45 minutes. She had 15 minutes left, and decided to finish early and try to catch a bit of sleep in homeroom.

Sakura swiftly completed her exam and turned it in. she began down the hall towards her classroom. The hall was already swarming with students rushing to gossip with friends or visiting their lockers. Sakura saw the vague forms of her friends waving to her. She feebly raised her arms to return the gesture, then trudged onward to the classroom.

Just as Sakura was about to open the door, she noticed she felt less tired. _Why does that always happen?_ she asked herself. While she was standing there, oblivious to anything going around her, and firm hand grasped her arm.

Sakura gasped and spun around. A flurry of emotions ran through her. Relief, for it was someone she knew. Dread, that it was an unwanted face. And fear, because she sensed something bad was about to go down.

"Sakura, haven't seen you in a while." said the smooth voice of Zaku.

"Of, well, you know. I've been busy with school and all." Sakura tried to pull away, but Zaku's grip only tightened. He leaned forward to whisper into her ear.

"But we _must_ spend some time together Sakura." Sakura winced. She hated the feel of his breath.

"Uh, later, maybe." she replied, finally breaking free. Zaku looked at her with piercing eyes. She dropped her gaze.

"Later, then." he said before walking away.

--------------------------------

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief- Zaku was gone. She didn't like the sound of his voice, though, and was a bit apprehensive about it. As she stood in front of the door, she was not looking at the hoards of students speeding down the halls- there were 10 seconds to the bell.

10…

9…

Sakura stood, appearing dazed in front to the door.

8…

7…

"Sakura! What are you doing?" Sasuke's voice resonated in the halls. "If you're caught outside, you get detention!" He was speeding down the hall towards her.

6…

5…

4…

Sakura saw him. "Sasuke…?" Only then did she noticed the utter lack of students in the hall, and the full meaning of his words set it.

3…

2…

"THE DOOR!" they both screamed at once. But it was too late….

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A moment after the sound came through the intercom, the tw tardy students burst through the door.

"Detention." Came the short reply of the teacher. "Sakura, room 019. Sasuke, 114" The two stood their, stunned. They had come so close, and yet they knew it was futile for them to argue.

--------------------------

Sakura headed to the basement and detention. She had had a most miserable day. She had been silent at lunch and Sasuke hadn't spoken to her- she assumed he was upset about the whole detention thing as well.

"Stupid Zaku." Sakura muttered under her breath as she entered the room. She was the only one in there. The detention policy never allowed more than one student in a room at a time, and as a result the faculty often had to reschedule detentions if overbooked.

Sakura sat down in the wooden desk and proceeded to drum her fingers on it. She had brought nothing to do for a half an hour, and was utterly bored.

_So tired…._

She wondered how Sasuke was doing, and if they would possibly meet up after school, she doubted it.

_Must rest…._

What if Sasuke never talked to her again? What if her friends started to hate her? What if… what if….

Before Sakura knew it, she was fast asleep.

---------------------

"Hey! Kid!" Sakura maoned- she was still asleep.

"WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura jolted upwards and hit a solid object. The teacher stumbled backward holding his bruised chin. Sakura rubbed her sore head.

"Owwwww…" she mumbled.

"Hey, kid, your time is up. Your free to go."

Sakura smiled inwardly at this. It sounded like she was being released from prison.

"Uh, thanks, I guess." she said as she walked out. The teacher merely grunted; his chin was still swelling up.

Sakura walked into the hall. It was eerily quite. After school, all the students left as quickly as possible, and the school was placed under an unusually silent spell. Sakura's footsteps echoed loudly as she walked up to the main floor (the first one). Even though there was no reason to be scared, she felt a stab of fear as she walked down the empty hall. She had a feeling something bad was about to happen.

How right she was.

"Sakura, you didn't think I would forget, did you?"

Chills ran up Sakura's spine again. She turned slowly around, her eyes closed tight. She opened one slowly, praying that the person standing behind her at the end of the wall wasn't the one she most wished to avoid.

It was.

Zaku strode towards Sakura with an evil grin on his face. Sakura began backing slowly away, hoping she could make a run for it out the door. She didn't want to go too soon, or all hope would be lost- Zaku could easily overtake her.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Zaku.

"Um, home?" replied Sakura weakly.

Sakura began to turn, but Zaku grabbed her arm. Sakura gasped in surprise as she was spun around to face Zaku.

"I don't think so, Sakura. Remember our 'date'?" Zaku was pulling Sakura closer, while she was attempting to break free. But Zaku's grip only tightened, as it had that morning.

"W-well, I-I only said later, I-I didn't say _when_ later was." Sakura tried. But it was no use. Zaku was drawing her closer, and Sakura's free hand was useless against Zaku's iron grip….

_Wait!_

And idea flashed in Sakura's mind. She twisted her left hand (the one held fast by Zaku) so that is grasped his wrist. She then twisted her hand in a circle in order to pull Zaku's arm in an awkward-and painful- position.

Zaku howled in pain and clutched his sore arm. He looked up at Sakura with anger in his eyes, but she drew back her balled up hand and punched him in the eye. Zaku reeled back, hand over his injury, and Sakura took off.

The hallway was longer than she expected, and Zaku was now chasing after her. He was getting closer, and Sakura knew she wouldn't have a chance alone. She closed her eyes (which is a really stupid thing to do when you are running) and prayed for a miracle.

It came.

After a few seconds, Sakura opened her eyes to check if the door was any nearer. What she saw instead was Sasuke- staring at the scene with a mixture of surprise and anger as Sakura rushed down the hall.

Relief flooded through Sakura's entire being. She raced towards her potential savior with all the strength remaining in her. When she reached him, she flung her arms around his neck in a close embrace. She could feel Sasuke's shock at this, but there was no time to spare.

"Please, help me!" she whispered into his ear. Sasuke nodded.

"Of course."

Sakura released him from her grasp and watched as he and Zaku faced each other. Zaku was already running, and didn't think it necessary to stop for Sasuke. He clenched both his fists and hurtled straight at the Uchiha with a deafening roar.

Sasuke, unafraid and level-headed even in the most pressing situations, merely stuck out his foot. Zaku didn't have time to stop and went flying with a look of shock upon his face. Sakura, not wanting to miss out or give the impression she was weak, swung her Messenger Bag full force at the airborne Zaku.

The bag hit it's target and Zaku slammed into the wall, unconscious. Sakura was breathing hard and sunk to the floor, relieved and tired.

"You okay?" Sasuke's voice was full of concern as he helped Sakura up off the floor. Sakura nodded her head as she stared into the intense onyx eyes.

"Please Sasuke, what was that all about?" Sakura was fed up with no one telling her anything, and Sasuke seemed to sense that. Nevertheless, he couldn't find words to accurately describe it, so he tried the best he could.

"Sakura, Zaku is…well, he's kind of a perv." Sakura's eyes widened. That was all he had to say. She understood now.

"So….the reason I needed to have a boyfriend was…" she started.

"…so that he wouldn't bother you anymore." Sasuke finished. "Zaku is a creep, but he wouldn't _dare_ try to do something like that to a girl who had a boyfriend. I…" Sasuke seemed to be struggling for words again. "I just wanted to protect you."

Sakura felt her heart leap- Sasuke _did_ care about her. She moved closer to him.

"Thank you, Sasuke."

Before she knew it, her arms were around him again. He pressed his lips to hers so gently, yet so passionately. Sakura blushed slightly, and from the heat emanating from Sasuke's face she could tell he was too. It seemed to last for an eternity, and Sakura cursed lung capacity for making her let go.

"So," started Sasuke, "want a ride home?"

**And there you have it! Mind you, I'm not done yet, but there is the explanation everyone wanted. If there are any questions, please let me know. Until the next chapter, then.**


	6. On The Rocks and Back Off

**Yay! I love getting these reviews. Sorry about this chapter in advance, though. It's not exactly a masterpiece, it is more like a transition into better ones…kind of hastily written. Anyways, try not to break your computer into bits if you are disappointed by the chapter, as some of you probably will be, because then you'll be stuck with sharp metal pieces from a computer and a desire to take out your anger on the person who forced this upon you…aka me!**

Sakura closed the door to her house and ran up to her room. She jumped up and landed on her springy bed, facedown. She then flipped over and stared at the ceiling, feeling utterly happy about everything that had happened.

Grinning, Sakura replayed the day's events in her mind. The horrible morning, the chase down the hall, and the wonderful kiss. The ride back to her house had been spent telling Sasuke exactly what had happened, and had ended with another kiss.

Sakura, realizing she couldn't just lie on the bed daydreaming forever, began to go about the monotonous tasks of those who are still in school. She did her homework, studied- though not very hard- and by the time she had eaten and changed, it was well into the night. Sakura usually stayed up later, but the days events were just now taking their toll on her. Closing her eyes, she fell into a deep and restful sleep.

…………

Sakura yawned as she stepped outside into the warm sun. It had been a while since she could sleep in, but Sasuke had offered to drive her to school. She had agreed-not only would it mean more rest, but she could spend time with Sasuke.

"Morning, Sakura." Sasuke said as she slipped in next to him in his car.

"Morning Sasuke." she replied as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Sasuke looked at her, slightly smirking, then pulled her into a full-on kiss. Sakura allowed this, then broke apart.

"We really should get going."

Sasuke sighed but started the car. He was surprised at how much he actually cared about Saskura….it scared him almost. He had never really though about feelings, but Sakura was…..different.

Sakura was enjoying the ride in the car- she had barely ever ridden in one before, as the orphanage walked every where and took planes to the new locations. She loved the feeling of wind whipping her face, and the smooth seat below her. But most of all, she liked the close proximity with Sasuke.

"What's up?" said Sasuke. Sakura sat up straighter, startled.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You looked like you were about to fall asleep." Sasuke said. Sakura blushed. She didn't want him to think she was bored by him!

"Well, I—I just have to get used to this extra sleep is all." she said hastily. Sasuke laughed softly. He reached over and put his arm around Sakura's waist. He pulled her over by his side and kissed the top of her head. Sakura sighed and leaned up against him. This was exactly where she wanted to be.

Sakura was so content that she didn't even notice when they stopped in front of the school. She allowed Sasuke to open her door for her, and laughed at the comically low bow he made while doing so. She took his hand, smiling, and they proceeded to walk up the stone steps towards the large front doors. Sakura, so heavily immersed in her bliss, only noticed the silent stares of the onlookers when her friends met the pair at the top of the steps.

"SAKURA!" cried Ino.

Sakura started. "Huh? What it is?" she said, confused at her friend's unusually loud greeting.

"You—Sasuke—when—how?" Ino spluttered, unable to form a complete sentence in her shock.

"Ino, if you aren't going to speak properly, how will Sakura ever understand you?" Despite looking equally shocked, Hinata managed to control herself better than Ino. TenTen nodded furiously.

"Well," Ino seemed at a loss for words. Regaining her composure, however, she placed her hands on her hips and rounded more confidently on Sakura.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Sakura!" she said. Sasuke laughed. "What's so funny?" asked Ino.

"You sounded so much like my moth—." but he stopped. There was a few moments of uncomfortable silence: Sakura had no mother.

"Er, Sakura?" Sasuke asked tentatively. Sakura looked at him. "Um, Naruto and the others are going to want to talk to me…but…um….I'll see you in homeroom, alright?" he said, kissing her on the cheek and striding away quickly. Sakura was too disarmed by Sasuke's odd behavior to be too hurt, and was immediately subjected to questioning by her eager friends.

"What happened?"

"_When_ did it happen?"

"What was it like?"

"Are you going steady, now?"

"Have you met his parents?"

"Have you seen his room?"

"When is your next date?"

"Are you in love?"

"Is he?"

Sakura walked on, saying nothing. Her friends seemed to have forgotten that she had been with Sasuke for a total of about 15 hours (A/N. Random guess, I hate doing math….) and half of those questions were not only stupid, but impossible to answer. Nevertheless, they seemed to take her silence as a cue to keep talking, and kept a constant stream of chatter all the way to Sakura's locker.

……………….

"Hey, Sasuke." Shikamaru said, lazily sitting on a stone bench.

Sasuke nodded in his direction, a typical greeting from him. He looked around, dreading the assault of questions he was sure would come from Naruto, but nothing happened. He just stood there, waiting.

"Um, are you expecting something?" asked Neji.

"No…of course not…." replied Sasuke, who didn't want to appear overly-delighted about his new girlfriend.

"Seems like your fan-club is giving you the cold-shoulder today, though." Shikamaru said, jerking his head in their direction. "Be careful, they may be plotting against you."

"Yeah, it's probably their new strategy." added Naruto. "they probably think that if they kill Sasuke, he'll be theirs' for sure!"

The others laughed, but Sasuke merely muttered to himself.

"I'm more worried about what they'll do to Sakura once they've found out. Of course, they probably already know…."

"Know what?" demanded Naruto. Stared at Sasuke, then the group of girls muttering mutinously, then mouthed Sasuke's words. The truth seemed to hit him like a speeding train. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"No way!" he said. Sasuke could feel himself starting to blush.

"What's going on, Sasuke?" asked Neji.

Before Sasuke could answer, Shikamaru blurted it out for him.

"Sasuke kissed Sakura!"

Their reactions were not at all what Sasuke would have pictured. Naruto burst out into laughter and fell to the ground. Shikamaru sat gaping at him from the bench, Neji's face was impassive.

"Shut it, Naruto!" said Sasuke, hitting him on the top of his head.

"What I want to know," said Naruto, wiping tears from his eyes, "is why Sakura hasn't been hunted down by those girls over there yet." He shivered. "They scare me…for once I'm glad I'm not you, Sasuke!"

The others nodded, but Sasuke wasn't listening. What if they did want to hurt Sakura? What if they tried? And he wasn't there to help her?

Mind racing, Sasuke walked away from his friends. He had to find Sakura, he had to make sure she was okay.

He cursed relationship problems. Why did people have to get jealous. Why did they even have to have emotions? He shook his head- it was all pretty pointless and stupid that he had to worry about his own girlfriend being mauled by a pack of other girls.

Sasuke was practically running down the halls now. He finally spotted Sakura, surrounded by her friends, at her locker. By the expression on her face, Sasuke could tell she was bored and annoyed by their behavior. This he found strange. He didn't like to admit it, but he craved attention. Sakura, however, seemed to hate it.

He slowed to a walk, not wanting to appear as anxious as he was. His heart, however, was pounding. He had just noticed a flock of enraged girls, all who appeared to have sharp fingernails, hovering a short way from Sakura. Sasuke walked past them, and tried to pry his way through the tight group that surrounded his pink-haired girlfriend.

"Sakura, can I talk to you?" He immediately regretted ever saying those words. The girls had apparently forgotten they were already together, and began giggling and whispering. Sasuke scowled; he had always loathed this behavior especially since it was so effective in intimidating a person.

Not waiting for an answer, he reached forward and took Sakura's arm. He managed to extract her just as one of the girls with sharp nails took a swipe at where her head had just been.

Sasuke led Sakura down an empty hall, grateful for his time alone with her. She also seemed relieved. Draping an arm around her shoulder, Sasuke walked with Sakura in silence for a few minutes. Neither seemed inclined to speak. Finally, though, ssasuke broke the barrier.

"How's it going?" he said weakly. Sakura raised an eyebrow in half-amusement, half-exasperation.

"I—I mean," Sasuke stammered, not wanting to sound stupid. "How does it feel being with the most attractive guy in school?" Sasuke said, regaining some of his smoothness.

"You seem to think of yourself pretty highly, Sasuke." Sakura said with an unusual coolness to her voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sasuke, utterly confused.

"It means what I said it does." Sakura responded. Noticing the look on Sasuke's face, she sighed and continued.

"I know you think you would have gotten me to kiss you just by acting cool, Sasuke. You probably think I'm….easy." She sighed again. "I mean, who wouldn't? We've only known each other for a few days and yet," she threw her hands up into the air for emphasis, "here we are! You got what you wanted, didn't you? And I," she looked down at her feet, "I'm the most hated girl in school."

Sasuke stared. What else was he supposed to do? He had absolutely no experience with this, but he didn't want to say anything else to make him look worse. He was spared that, however, when Sakura flung her head back up and looked him right in the eyes.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she demanded of him. He gaped at her.

"What am I supposed to say? I don't want to look even worse…" But this, apparently, was not the right ting either.

"There you go again!" Sakura said in an unnaturally shrill voice. "Do you only care about yourself, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was utterly confused. In the course of 5 minutes, he had succeeded in bringing about a fight with Sakura, yet had no idea how he had done it. He racked his brains for something to say, but only succeeded in making himself angry.

"What is with you?" he said angrily. Sakura looked as though she had been slapped in the face. "First you're all happy, then you're sad, and now you're angry? What am I supposed to say? I've never had a girlfriend before; I don't know how this works!"

He had said it. He had never admitted to anyone before that he had been single for all of his life. Now, in danger of losing his first relationship, he had told the one person he wanted to hide it from forever.

Sakura.

Sakura, instead of looking taken aback, could not conceal a grin creeping across her face.

"You've never been kissed before me, Sasuke?" she said quietly.

"I never said that!" said Sasuke hotly, but he began to blush again. Sakura smirked.

"You didn't have too," she said. "I can tell." She seemed to have gotten over her anger pretty quickly.

"Don't you tell anyone!" said Sasuke, trying to appear in control. But he was fighting a losing battle.

"Don't worry," said Sakura, placing her lips on his in a lingering kiss. "My lips are sealed." she said before heading away to her friends.

"Girls." muttered Sasuke. He was still blushing, but it had nothing to do with embarrassment.


	7. Warning

**I'm sorry this is so late!!!! My new list of excuses is….**

**1. I was on vacation.**

**2. I had to work on my other story (not doing so well, I wouldn't recommend reading it. Why, then, am I still working on it? Because I'm stubborn that's why!)**

**3. I had a brilliant idea for this chapter that would play into other chapters and didn't want to wreck it.**

**4. I love torturing all the people who say "Update soon!" or "Add more chapters ASAP!" Mwahaha! I'm evil!!!!**

The next few weeks were a blur to Sakura.

It seemed that her relationsip with Sasuke had not only caused a considerable amount of gossip, but it also boosted her status in the school. More and more people greeted her with smiles in the hall, and although some of them just wanted a bit of her glory, others were sincere. Sakura began to make some of the best friends of her life.

Of course, she never forgot Hinata, Ino, and TenTen; they were the first to befriend her and not because she was Sasuke's girldfriend.

Sasuke's life had changed as well.

His fangirls never chased him anymore, for one. It was as if Sakura acted like a shield, protecting him from their constant presence. It was a huge relief not to see them every where he went.

He was also happier. Sakura and him were so alike: they liked the same music, movies, and activities. It seemed like they were made for each other.

But something else changed as well.

Sasuke, the boy always in control, was feeling a shift in power. It was subtle, and he doubted it was anything except him imagination, but it still bothered him. He would do anything for Sakura because he always wanted her to be happy. It was silly things, really. The two would be outside, or going for a walk, and Sakura would comment on how the roses were so beautiful. The next day, Sasuke would buy a large bouquet of roses and surprise Sakura with them. Sakura wasn't aware she had this invisible power over Sasuke, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

Today was a day like all the others.

Sasuke picked Sakura up in front of her hose, and they would greet each other with a kiss. Sasuke always liked this first kiss of the day. It was a great way to cheer him up if his morning hadn't been that good, and it put him in a bright mood.

The two would then get in his car, or walk, if it was nice out, and talk. Just talk. This was Sakura's favorite part of the day. She learned so much about Sasuke, and she could feel the bond between them growing stronger.

At school, the pair would separate. Sakura went to talk and gossip wit her friends, and Sasuke to hang out with his. They would meet up in homeroom and walk to class together. They would separate at lunch, meet up and go home again.

……………………………..

It happened during one of the rare occasions when Sakura was alone.

Her friends were in different classes.

Sasuke had forgotten something and told her to go on ahead.

The corridor was deserted.

She was completely alone.

This occurrence, which might have unnerved her before, was just an unusual event now. Sakura's confidence had grown, too, and she no longer became nervous when anything strange happened. She was alone, and that was okay.

She walked slowly down the hall. As much as she liked her friends and Sasuke, she needed to clear her head every once and a while and savored the silence. She closed her eyes, sharpening her other senses but clearing her head. Something was wrong, though. Her hearing increased, she heard the footsteps that were trying to match hers, yet were half a second behind.

She stopped.

The footsteps stopped.

Opening her eyes, she turned around. She had had a feeling this was coming, and she was ready.

"What do you want?" she said.

Zaku, his head bandaged and eyes narrowed, stood ten feet away.

"What do you think?" he answered, smirking.

"I'm not afraid of you, Zaku. You know I'm going out with Sasuke, so leave me alone." Sakura retorted. Zaku's smirk faded.

"Watch yourself, Sakura. You going out with Sasuke doesn't mean anything to me. If you haven't noticed, he isn't here right now."

Sakura glared at him.

"What are you waiting for, then?" she asked. Zaku shrugged.

"I actually just wanted to talk." he said.

Sakura looked at him skeptically. She figured she could make a run for it if she had too, and there were plenty of classrooms she could go into if she needed to. She figured she could hear him out.

"Okay then, what?" she questioned.

"I want to warn you." replied Zaku. This disarmed Sakura.

"About…?" she encouraged.

"Sasuke."

Zaku did not seem in any rush to answer Sakura. She knew she would have to keep pressing to get her information.

"What about him?" she asked.

"His type isn't reliable." Zaku said simply. Sakura was getting mad.

"Is that it, then?" she asked, her tone icy.

"No."

"Then what!??!"

Zaku gave a short laugh, smirking again.

"He can't stand to be tied down to one person for long." he said. Sakura was still confused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Zaku shrugged again. "It means exactly what it sounds like. He won't be able to last long in a single relationship. He'll dump you as soon as he feels threatened."

"Threatened?" asked Sakura.

"Yep. As soon as he feels like you're getting too close. Too bonded." Zaku held up his hand when Sakura looked ready to protest.

"I'm just warning you. It's a classic ploy. He'll either keeps you around until he knows he can get something better, or he'll leave you so he can play the field."

"Sasuke would never do that!" cried Sakura. Zaku raised his eyebrows.

"You think so? Well I've known him longer than you, and I know his type. I can see past all his lies. Underneath everything, he's afraid of commitment. You're best bet would be to get him before he get's you." He grinned. "I could help with that."

Sakura glared at him with all her might.

"You think you know Sasuke, but you don't! I know him better than you, I'm his girlfriend after all! But you, you just want to ruin our relationship. You think you can make me mistrust Sasuke? You, the perverted creep who can't even get a friend? I wouldn't ever trust you! Sasuke is better than what you make him out to be, so just leave us alone!" Sakura turned on he heel and started to walk away. But Zaku wanted the last word.

"You keep thinking that, Sakura! But just wait: Sasuke will dump you before the year is up!" he shouted after her. Sakura didn't speak. She just shook her head and walked into her classroom.

……………………….

Zaku watched the door of the classroom close before he walked away. He grinned to himself.

"Step one, complete." he said to himself.

……………………….

"Sakura, is everything okay?" Sasuke asked her. They were in his car, in front of Sakura's house. Sakura had been unnaturally quiet all day, and he wondered what was wrong.

"No, Sasuke, I'm not okay." she admitted. Sasuke put his arm around her.

"Tell me."

Sakura paused. Should she tell him? What if he dumped her just for considering believing it? Or what if Zaku was right, and Sasuke admitted it. She looked into his onyx eyes, which were full of concern, and launched into her story.

Sasuke listened to her story, his face never changing. When she finished, Sakura looked into his eyes again, her own emerald ones begging him to tell her it was all a lie.

"Sakura, none of that is true." Sasuke said quietly. He saw the relief flood her eyes, and he hugged her tighter.

"I didn't believe it…. It just scared me is all." Sakura told him.

"Why would it scare you?" asked Sasuke, surprised.

"Because I thought that if it was true….then you would dump me right now for telling you….and I would know that you were that kind of guy." Sakura explained.

Sasuke put his hands on her shoulders and looked her right in the eye.

"I'm not like that Sakura, I swear. I would never do that to you." he told her.

"I know Sasuke, I know." Sakura answered.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Sasuke responded and drew her in closer. He stroked her long hair with one hand while keeping her close with another. When they broke apart, both were smiling.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura." said Sasuke as Sakura got out of the car.

She nodded and waved at him as he drove off.

As Sasuke drove, he thought about what had just happened. He was a bit unnerved that he had been thinking about Sakura's influence over him the same day Zaku had warned Sakura that he would dump her. He would never do that!

Would he?

**Okay, this is a VERY IMPORTANT CHAPTER!!!! It won't come up again for a while, but trust me, it will come up. **

**No, Zaku is not dead. I know a lot of you probably wanted him to be….but alas! He lives.**

**It is so hard, thinking of new chapters! I have the overall story planned out, but not the individual chapters. Oh well!**

**If anyone has any questions (I don't know why you would, but it's just a precaution), be sure to ask. **

**And, that's about it.**

**Until next time!**


	8. Are you kidding? Evaluation time!

**Sorry again about the lateness. A stupid person hacked into my computer and I've been trying to fix it ever since! Therefore, I'm going to try and make the story more detailed and the chapters longer so you won't kill me.**

_At the Uchiha Mansion_

Sasuke stared up at the high, arched ceiling of his room. After he dropped Sakura off, he had come home and, without speaking to anyone, shut himself in there. It was his place to go when he didn't want to be disturbed, because he specifically told the entire household to never venture in there.

Sasuke sighed and sat up. He glanced around his large room, conscious of it's dark colors and gloomy feel. When he was younger, he had wanted black walls, but his parent had flatly refused. Instead, they settled on a navy blue. At first, Sasuke had been furious. But it turned out to be a good decision: if he came home late, he could actually make out the colors of the walls and avoid bumping in to them.

There weren't many items in the room that would openly showcase his personality. To find those would require close observation, and nobody ever spent that much time in his room. Ever.

There was his bed, of course. It had been moved from the center of the wall to the side corner and was covered in plain, black sheets. This took the focus off of it, and Sasuke preferred it that way. He always though 50 steps ahead of everyone else, and he reckoned that, if an unwanted intruder (say, a mass murderer) paid a visit to his room, at least he would have to looks around a few seconds before finding his next victim.

There was a desk, with a lap top currently plugged in and charging. He did whatever homework he had at that desk, and had a soft office chair to ensure he was comfortable while doing it.

One of his walls was really the entrance to a walk in closet, where Sasuke's clothes (for vacations and weekends) were hanging limply on hangers, and his shoes (formal and casual) were placed neatly beside one another. He had a separate drawer—in the main part of his room—for his school clothes.

There was a small nightstand by Sasuke's bed. On top of it were a lamp and a white intercom which his parents, the maids, the butlers, and his brother used when they wanted him for something (usually dinner). There was a drawer which held his iPOD, watch, and other miscellaneous items (i.e. shouelaces). His cell phone was charging on top of the stand and Sasuke flipped it open to see if he had any new messages.

**You have five (5) new text messages.** It read.

**1. FROM: Naruto**

**TO: Sasuke**

**MESSAGE: Do u hav the English hmwrk?**

**2. FROM: Naruto**

**TO: Sasuke**

**MESSAGE: Nvr mind: I got it.**

**3. FROM: Naruto**

**TO: Sasuke**

**MESSAGE: Wait, can u tell me so im sure?**

**4. FROM: Naruto**

**TO: Sasuke**

**MESSAGE: Actually, ill just call hinata**

**5. FROM: Sakura**

**TO: Sasuke**

**MESSAGE: Hope you're not worrying! See you tomorrow! Love, Sakura**

Sasuke's heart gave a lurch. How did she know him so well? How did she know that at that exact moment he had been doubting himself for the second time that day? That he had been wondering if Sakura deserved a person who let the lies of another person determine the outcome of his relationship?

But were they lies?

It was true, Sasuke had never kept a girlfriend for more than a week—but they were all creepy fangirls who followed him EVERYWHERE until he gave in to their pleads for a date. He always dumped them in public, just to show that he didn't ever care about any of them. Was Sakura doomed to meet that fate as well?

Sasuke shook his head furiously. "I would never do that to her. Even if we did split up, I would never be that cruel as to do it in that way." He tapped "Respond" on his phone and tapped out a quick message to Sakura.

**I'm fine. Walk to school tomorrow? It's gonna be nice out. Sasuke**

He closed his phone and put it back on the nightstand. At that moment, Itachi's voice sounded through the intercom.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke pressed the button to respond to Itachi.

"What?"

"Sasuke." The voice sounded again.

"What?" repeated Sasuke.

"Sasuke!"

"What?!"

"SASUKE!"

"WHAT?!"

There was a pause, in which Sasuke fumed. Then his door banged open and Itach strode in, smirking.

"What the hell are you doing in here?!" shouted Sasuke. "Out! GET OUT!"

"Nah." responded Itachi coolly. He pulled up the office chair and sat down. "It's not too bad in here."

This was too much for Sasuke. "Get. The. Hell. Out. Now." he said slowly and menacingly.

"Nope. Don't feel like it." said Itachi. "Besides, I need to talk to you. Didn't you hear me on the intercom?"

Sasuke had to resist the urge to smash the lamp over his brother's head. "About what?"

"Your girlfriend." Itachi said simply. Sasuke froze.

"How do you know about that?" he asked. Itacho ignored him. He grabbed Sasuke's cell phone off the stand and flipped it open.

"Hey!" cried Sasuke, but it was too late.

"Hope you're not worrying! See you tomorrow! Love Sakura." recited Itachi. "You shouldn't leave your phone out in the open Sasuke. I've been reading your text messages."

Sasuke's jaw dropped. "Since when?"

"Few weeks ago." Itachi shrugged. "I was bored and there it was. But enough about that. This Sakura, is she hot?"

Sasuke couldn't help blushing madly. "What the hell is your problem?!!?!?!?!" he screamed.

"So she isn't?" asked Itachi.

"I never said that!" replied Sasuke.

"So she is." stated Itachi.

"What—I—you—Is that all?" Sasuke finally managed.

"No, actually." said Itachi, standing up and walking to the door. "Mom and Dad want to see you." he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

Sasuke groaned. This would be painful. He heaved himself off of his bed and trudged down the long hallways leading to the sitting room. Whenever his parents wanted to talk to him, they would do it in that room. It was formal and beautifully furnished, which made the tension in the air palpable for whoever was unlucky enough to be sitting there with them.

He entered the room silently and took his place on the large armchair that faced the sofa where his parents sat. His mother was on the right, looking very well put together and stern as she sat stiffly and rigidly on the furniture. She always spent a long time putting herself together but, despite what her appearance might have suggested, was good natured and kind. His father was a bit more relaxed looking, and was usually fair in his judgments. He could be frightening when angry, however, and Sasuke still had to be careful not to incur his wrath.

"So." began his mother, looking intently at Sasuke. "So."

"Yes?" replied Sasuke sullenly.

"I assume you know why you are here?" she continued in a business like manner.

"Uh, no." said Sasuke, utterly confused.

"Of course you do." she snapped. Sasuke decided against arguing. "You've had a girlfriend for more than a week."

"Okay, how does everyone know this?" demanded Sasuke. His father laughed.

"It's pretty obvious, Sasuke." he answered, still chuckling.

"You leave early every morning, you get home later every day, and Itachi has told us you talk to the same girl with your phone almost every night." his mother added.

"Oh I'm going to kill that son of a—" Sasuke muttered.

"Excuse me?" asked Sasuke's mother in a loud voice.

"Nothing, mother." Sasuke replied in a falsely innocent voice. His mother eyed him, but didn't press the matter.

"Moving on." she said, still glaring at her son. "We have called you here to discuss your relationship with her."

Sasuke stifled a groan. This was going to be a highly awkward, embarrassing situation. Itachi would never let him live it down.

"How much do you like this girl?" His mother's sharp voice interrupted Sasuke's self-pitying.

"Her name is Sakura Haruno." Sasuke replied stiffly.

"You didn't answer my question."

Sasuke looked pleadingly at his father, who shrugged his shoulders as if to say Hey, I don't want to be here either.

"Look, do we have to go through this? Does is really matter if I haven't broken up with Sakura?" Sasuke asked desperately. His mother stiffened.

"Fine. If you insist on not 'going through this' right now, then we shall just have to see for ourselves Friday night." She made a move to stand.

"Wait! What?" asked Sasuke, sensing trouble. "Friday night?"

"Seven o'clock, sharp, Sasuke. We are having Sakura for dinner." His mother answered. Sasuke felt the world falling apart.

"And be sure to tell her it is a _formal_ dinner." she said as she and his father exited the room, leaving Sasuke alone.

Sasuke felt nothing immediately. He picked himself up and began the journey back to his room. He walked down the long hallways, not stopping to talk with Itachi when he called out to him, nor when the maids asked him if he was feeling okay. He calmly shut the door to his room and walked into the center.

That's when it hit him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed. This was bad, this was worse than bad, this was horrible, terrible, amazingly bad!

This was his parent's evaluation.

Sasuke should have seen it coming. Every time Itachi got a new girlfriend she would be invited over and "evaluated". If his parents (mainly his mother) didn't approve, she would demand Itachi never see her again. Itachi, being Itachi, rarely or never listened to her. But this was different. If Sakura came over she might be scared away by his family and break up with him. Then it wouldn't matter if they like her or not; it would be over.

Sasuke paced his room, trying to see a way out of this situation. Any excuse he could make for her would just make his mother think she was a procrastinator, something she hated more than anything. And Sakura would have to face her eventually, so she would be coming in with a bad reputation to add on to everything else.

No, Sakura would have to come, on time, in a formal dress, at seven on Friday. Having accepted this fate, Sasuke now attempted to figure out how to tell her.

"Short and to the point." he said to himself. "I don't want any dragged out explanations or anything. And no questions, that would be horrible. No, just short, sweet, and to the point."

Sasuke gathered some small comfort from the fact that he wouldn't have to worry about and long discussions about this sensitive subject. He lay down his bed and closed his eyes, trying to relax after that unpleasant experience.

_Beep beep beep._

_Damn cell phone._ Sasuke thought as he sat up to answer the new text. _It's probably just Naruto, telling me he got the homework._

But it wasn't. Sasuke read Sakura's name and his heart lifted before plummeting at the message.

**TO: Sasuke**

**FROM: Sakura**

**MESSAGE: Sure, Sasuke. Can't to have a nice, long walk. I'll talk to you then. Love Sakura.**

As Sasuke read the message, he knew he could do nothing about it. Sakura wanted to walk, and Sasuke's inexplicable need to make her happy would not allow him to change the plans. But as his eyes settled on the word "long", all his reassurances evaporated and he was left with a single thought.

_Aw, shit._

**So there you have it! My first attempt at a longer, more descriptive chapter. There may be some questions, although I tried to help you with that.**

**I'm sorry to say that, as of Thursday, I'll be back in school. This will seriously limit my writing time, so don't despair if I don't update as often as you would like. But I promise you this: the story is about to get a lot more interesting….**


	9. How do I put this bluntly

**It has been a very very very very very long time since my last update, and I pray it will never happen again! But, it probably will, so I'm sorry in advance. **

**In case anyone has forgotten, last chapter Sasuke learned that he must invite Sakura over for a formal dinner at his mansion. He was dreading how he would break it to her, which brings us to this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

"Hey, Sakura! So, my parents want you to come over for dinner, what do you say? No, that sounds stupid!"

"So, Sakura, dinner at my house on Friday? By the way, you have to dress formally and my parents will be there. Oh come on! That's even worse!"

Sasuke walked slowly down the sidewalk leading to Sakura's front door. He was desperately trying to come up with a way to tell Sakura, and avoid the embarrassment of the situation as well. So far, however, he was failing miserably.

"What am I going to do!?" he moaned. "I'm going to kill Itachi if it's the last thing I do!" (A/N. :P sound familiar?) And so Sasuke proceeded to let loose a barrage of curses and death threats regarding his brother's future.

Nevertheless, these did nothing to improve Sasuke's current situation.

"Damn it!" he shouted. "How the hell am I supposed to tell Sakura!?!?!?!?"

"Tell me what?"

Sasuke froze. While he had been threatening to kill Itachi, he had not realized how close he was to Sakura's house. It just so happened that Sakura was ready early, and had decided to wait for Sasuke outside instead of vice-versa. Sakura had heard his ranting, and was now staring at him with a very puzzled expression on her face.

"Tell me what, Sasuke?" she repeated.

"N—nothing Sakura." Sasuke said weakly. Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"Let me guess: you wanted to tell me you think I'm an idiot? "Because with that response, you _must_ think I'm stupid." she replied.

"Of course I don't!" Sasuke said.

"Then why did you give me a fake response only an idiot would believe?" she retorted.

Sasuke paused and considered his options. Humiliation….or hatred. He weighed the outcomes and made his choice.

"Sakura, I think you're an idiot."

Sakura paused, then slapped him across the face.

"Ouch! Sakura! What the hell was that for!?!?" cried Sasuke, rubbing his sore face. He looked up and saw Sakura bent over, laughing hysterically.

"What the—?"

"You—should—have—seen—the—look on—your face!" gasped Sakura. "Hilarious!"

Sasuke stood, affronted, and stared at the laughing form of Sakura. Then he smiled. He _had_ insulted her, after all. He had deserved it.

"But Sakura," he pretend-whined, "you have to do _something_ to make it feel better!"

Sakura looked up, puzzled. "What—?"

But she never got to finish her question. Sasuke placed his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the lips. Sakura put her arms around his neck and responded warmly. They stood there for a few moments until Sakura broke the spell and looked him right in the eyes.

"You really do think I'm an idiot, don't you?" she asked him.

"Why would you think that?" he responded.

She took his hand and began to walk with him down the sidewalk. "Well, you told me something only an idiot would believe or say. So really….your the idiot!"

"Don't make me slap you!" joked Sasuke, and Sakura laughed again.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But you deserved it!" she said.

Sasuke nodded. "I know. I just should have told right away that—." He stopped short. _Shit!_ he thought.

"Aha! Told me what?" asked Sakura again.

"Um…" Sasuke said, rubbing his neck with his free hand.

"Told me _what_?" she repeated.

"Um…."

"Sasuke Uchiha! If you don't tell me right this instant, then we're through!" threatened Sakura.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks. "You….you don't mean that, right?" he asked softly.

Sakura stared into his piercing onyx eyes. "Sasuke, if I can't trust you, then what's the point in being with you?" she answered.

Sasuke stared back at the only girl, no, the only person who had ever said something like that to him, the only one who had ever dared to challenge him. Something stirred inside of him, something he didn't like.

Sakura noticed the darkening of Sasuke's face.

"S-Sasuke?" she asked timidly.

"Sorry, Sakura, I'll tell you the truth from now on." he replied in a monotone. Sakura sighed: this was the best she was going to get out of him for now, and she'd have to take it if she wanted to get anything out of him.

"Okay…" Sasuke took a deep breath. Minutes passed as he stood there trying to figure out how to work this correctly. "So…."

Sakura was tapping her foot impatiently, a voice screaming inside of her head. _JUST TELL ME WHATEVER THE HELL IT IS!!!!_

"SomyparentswantyoutocomeovertohavedinnerwithusbecauseyourthefirstgirlI'vestayedwithformorethanaweek" Sasuke spat out as he walked away quickly.

"What?" asked Sakura, dumbstruck. Contrary to Sasuke's hope, she had perfectly understood every word Sasuke had just spoken. "Wait, Sasuke!"

Sakura ran to catch up with him. Rather than stop him, she fell into step beside him.

"Did I just hear you say your parents want me to come over for dinner?" she asked.

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. He nodded.

"And that I'm the only person you've been with for more than a week?"

Another nod.

A pause….

Sakura's laughter filled the empty street. Sasuke's eyes flew open as he stared at Sakura.

"And what's so funny?" he asked he.

Sakura straightened. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's the fact that the great Sasuke Uchiha is afraid to ask me over for dinner." she said.

At that moment, Sasuke realized how incredibly stupid he looked.

Sakura still had a grin on her face, and heard Sasuke mumbling something: "wasn't afraid…not sure…you wanted to come…"

"Oh Sasuke." Sakura said in an exasperated voice. "Why wouldn't I want to come over?"

Sasuke merely shrugged and kept walking. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them now, and Sakura didn't like it.

……………………………………………….

Sasuke paused in front of the school. He was battling with himself, trying to decide what would be best to do. Sakura waited patiently for him to make his decision, knowing full well what her reaction would be either way.

If he apologized, Sakura would accept it and they would move on, forgetting this stupid little fight they had. If he didn't….well that was that. Sakura couldn't be with someone who didn't respect her. Bedsides, she could endure 2 years of seeing Sasuke every day…with other girls…instead of her.

Either that, or she would poke her eyes out to avoid seeing it.

"Sakura…" Sasuke began. Sakura took his hand and squeezed it gently. Surprised, Sasuke looked down at her sparkling emerald eyes. All thoughts of his decision left his mind and, for the first time, he truly spoke his heart.

"I'm sorry."

Sakura smiled: she knew he meant it. She leaned up to Sasuke and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"I know."

The tension was relieved and the two walked down the sidewalk to the school. All of a sudden, Sasuke realized he had forgotten one key part of this arrangement.

_Oh no….oh no….how the hell am I going to get outta this one?_ Sasuke racked his brains for some way to tell her this. This was even more uncomfortable than asking Sakura over for dinner. But he swallowed his pride and got it done.

"So, you have pretty good hearing…right Sakura?" asked Sasuke slyly.

"I guess." said Sakura. She had spotted her friends and was waving to them. "Why?"

"Well….youseethedinnerisformalandyouhavetowearafancydresssorryiforgottomentionitearlier!" he told her. Before Sakura had time to respond, Sasuke kissed her on the cheek and then speed-walked to his own group of friends.

"A dress?" said Sakura to herself. "Shopping?"

"Who's going shopping?" said a voice behind Sakura. There, their eyes gleaming with the promise of a full days shopping, stood Ino, Hinata, and TenTen.

…………………………………

**Ha! I did it! Now begins another wait for the next chapter, which I hope won't take too long to complete.**

**Just as an overview of what I'm planning (although some chapters may be omitted or added):**

**Sakura goes shopping/ Sasuke goes shopping**

**The dinner**

**Zaku's next step in his evil plan**

**A party at Sasuke's house**

**An interesting date **

**If I say any more, the whole plot will be given away. Don't think this is all there will be, of no, I have so much more torturous waiting panned for you all:K**

**Till then.**


	10. Shopping With Maniacs

**AHHHH!!!! You all had such great predictions for Zaku's plan, now I don't know what to do. I guess I'll just start over, trying to think of something that will be funny and evil at the same time. WARNING: I may fail.**

**I've got to say, my favorite suggestion was that Zaku tells everyone there is a party at Sasuke's the same night as the dinner with his parents, but I wouldn't feel right taking someone else's idea. Besides, I would have just given it away!**

**I will say that it is probably going to include Itachi to some point. Bear in mind, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to write, though, so it may change.**

**Now I'll shut up and write the next chapter.**

"Oh my gosh, Sakura, this is going to be _so_ much fun!" Ino squealed as she pulled Sakura into the spacious mall.

"Oh….yeah…." Sakura agreed halfheartedly. As she gazed at the high ceilings, masses of shoppers, and store windows screaming high prices, she sincerely doubted if "fun" was the right way to describe this experience. However, Ino, Hinata, and TenTen all seemed to think that shopping was the most wonderful thing in the world, so she decided to play along.

"Where should we start?" asked TenTen eagerly, her head swiveling back and forth between stores so quickly that Sakura was amazed it didn't snap off her neck.

"S-start?" asked Sakura. She had been under the impression that she would simply walk into a store, find a dress, and buy it.

"Sa-ku-ra!" said Ino, rolling her eyes at her friends lack of shopping intelligence. "You can't just go into one store; you have to look at them all!" And before Sakura could say a word of protest, all Hinata and TenTen grabbed her arms and dragged her into the nearest store while Ino ran ahead.

Sakura had to blink her eyes a number of times when she entered the store. There were rows upon rows of brightly colored dresses, ranging from simplistic black designs to extravagant, over-the-top outfits which whose purpose Sakura struggled to comprehend.

"Oh, Sakura! Isn't this beautiful!"

"This color would go so well your hair!"

"This would bring out your eyes!"

"You have to try this on!"

"And this!"

"Oh! This one too!"

On and on it went, with the three shopaholics loading dress after dress onto Sakura's arms and Sakura standing helpless in the middle of the floor. After they had found enough dresses for her too try on (the number was so large the sheer weight of all the dresses threatened to break Sakura's arms in two) they pushed her into a dressing room and waited for her to try them all on.

The first dress the girls had chosen was so big Sakura felt like she was swimming in it. She threw it over the door to the other girls without even modeling it for them. The next one was as short as the first had been long, and it was so tight Sakura couldn't breathe in it and threw it over the door as well.

The third dress was little better: it fit her well enough, but the yellow color made Ino burst out laughing when she saw it on her. Sakura stalked back into the dressing room, tore the dress off, and flung it with such force at Ino that she heard a cry of surprise as the blond fell to the ground.

So Sakura tried on dress after dress, and the others rejected each one. The pile of rejects grew larger and larger, and Sakura began to get very annoyed. When the girls rejected a sky blue dress Sakura was particularly fond of, she voiced her irritation.

"Why not this one? I think it looks perfectly good!" she said to her friends.

The three other exchanged looks that clearly said "You've _got_ to be kidding me" before listing a number of reasons why this wouldn't work.

"First of all, that dress is much too long! It's trailing on the floor! This is a dinner, not a fairy tail ball!"

"And look at the waist! It doesn't even fit you correctly!"

"That color….ugh! It's too light to go well with your hair and doesn't bring out your eyes at all!"

"Come on Sakura, don't you know anything?"

"Seriously, what were you thinking/"

"I don't know what you would do without us!"

"Hmmm, let's think, maybe find a dress and get out of this hell-hole!" Sakura spat at them. Bad move. TenTen gasped, Ino let loose a cry of outrage, and Hinata nearly fainted at the though that the mall was not the most wonderful place in the world.

Ino was the first to recover.

"Well fine, Sakura. If you think you can pick a good dress out, then we'll just leave." she responded and turned as if to walk away.

Sakura took one look at all the dresses in the store, and realized how big of a mistake she was about to make.

"Wait!" she cried. "I'm sorry. It's just I'm kind of getting stressed out over this dinner, and I don't see what the big deal is about getting a perfect dress!"

Ino turned back and sighed. "Sakura, I don't mean to be rude, but do you not realize that Sasuke is a little…well….obsessed about looks?"

"Well, yeah…" answered Sakura, getting the idea of where this was going.

"Well, his family is even worse than him, and his mother especially!" Ino shuddered. "I remember when she found out I was dating Shikamaru…she almost blew up!" Sakura gave her a confused look. Ino explained:

"Sasuke's mother makes sure all of Sasuke's friends are…"suitable" to be hanging out with him. Usually he doesn't really listen to what she says, but she can make life a living hell for the ones she doesn't approve. Now, she was never too fond of Shikamaru to begin with, and she absolutely hates me! So when she found out that I was even indirectly hanging out with Sasuke…." Ino shuddered.

"So you see, your first impression means absolutely everything. You can_not_ afford to screw this up! This is her son's girlfriend we're talking about!" Ino was practically screaming at Sakura, trying to get this crucial point across.

And it finally sunk in.

Sakura was dating Sasuke.

Sasuke's family was crazily obsessed with looks.

She hadn't found a dress that they would like.

And the day of the dinner was closing in.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed. The other shoppers jumped and turned to stare at the girl who was having the panic attack. Ino and Hinata attempted to calm her down, but nothing worked until TenTen, beginning to get a major headache, grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and shook some sense into her.

"You. Will. Find. A. Dress. That. Is. Why We. Are. Here!" she said firmly. Sakura's screams cut off, but the wild look of panic was still in her eyes.

"But how, there are so many here!" she moaned.

"Sakura, you have to relax. We'll find something, don't worry!" Hinata said soothingly, and Sakura tried hard to listen to her.

Meanwhile, Ino was appraising the remaining dresses.

"No no no, now that I think of it, none of these will work. Come on, let's go to another store." Ino said, shaking her head. She pulled Sakura out the door and up the stairs, Hinata and TenTen following closely behind.

"Maybe we should decide exactly what we're looking for, and then ignore everything else?" suggested Sakura. Ino paused.

"Hmm, combining logic and reasoning with shopping? I like it…I like it a lot." she agreed. Hinata and TenTen looked excited about this new twist on shopping, and the group sat at a table to make their list.

"Okay, now what colors do you think would go well with Sakura's hair and eyes?"

And they were off.

After countless suggestions, rejections, arguments, and decisions, the four girls had finally compiled a suitable list of what to look for in the dress.

**An Excerpt From Sakura's Ideal Dress Design**

**1. Length: no longer than the ankles, no shorter than mid-calf**

**2. Color: either a dark blue, silver, or red. Absolutely NO pink or green, although he colors may be used in the appliqué.**

**3. Style: not strapless or wrist-length sleeves. ¾ length or normal sleeves are preferable.**

**And so on, and so forth**

"All right, everyone, it's time to be serious! We MUST find a dress, now! Time is running out!" Ino said in a commanding voice. "It's time to take things to the next level, so we're going to split up. Sakura and I will be one team, and TenTen and Hinata will be another. Ready…..go!"

The two teams practically sprinted in opposite directions, and Sakura was again pulled along by Ino.

Sakura and Ino entered a store at breakneck speed and ran from rack to rack. Ino quickly from rack to rack, quickly glancing at the contents before dashing away. From the whole store, she only picked up one dress. Unfortunately, this dress failed to pass inspection when she held it up next to a bewildered Sakura and was thrown back on to the shelf.

_Geez, she wasn't like this at the first store!_ thought Sakura. _What happened?_

Suddenly, Sakura heard the faint sound of music coming from Ino's purse. Ino snatched her cell phone from the bag and flipped it open.

"Uh huh, uh huh. Where? Okay, we're coming." she said before closing it and walking briskly from the store.

"Ino?" asked Sakura.

"Hinata and TenTen were faster than us. They found a dress for you that fits all the criteria. We're heading over to check it out now." Ino said. Sakura couldn't help but thinking how much like a secret agent Ino sounded, but she held her tongue: Ino might be her only hope.

In a minute, Sakura spotted Hinata outside the store, waving her arms frantically at the two girls.

"Wait till you see! It's perfect!" she squealed before dashing back in to admire the dress some more.

Ino walked in before Sakura, and blocked Sakura's view of the dress. For once, all was hushed. Ino stared at the dress, and Sakura craned her neck to see it, but was unable to catch a glimpse of it at all.

Finally Ino turned to Sakura and shoved her into the dressing room. She threw the dress over and ordered Sakura to try it on. Sakura stared at it, but couldn't see what made all the other girls go silent and think it was so perfect. She slipped the dress over her head and looked in the mirror.

And saw why.

She stepped out to show the other girls, and saw their faces light up with success.

"It's…." Hinata began.

"Absolutely…." TenTen stated

"One-hundred percent…." Ino squealed

Sakura didn't say anything. She knew what it was, and knew she would make a great impression. A dress like this didn't need to have anyone say how wonderful it was, everyone just knew.

Sakura went back into the changing room and got back into her other clothes. She walked towards the checkout line, but Ino stopped her.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Buying the dress." said Sakura.

"Well DUH!" Ino stated, "But we're not done yet!"

"What?" cried Sakura. Was this never going to end?

"Sakura, you know the spring dance is only in a few months! We all need dresses for that too!"

"Can't…can't I just wear this one?" asked Sakura weakly, already knowing the answer.

"NO!" came a shout from the three others.

"You need to get something brand new for Sasuke to see you in!" TenTen said, winking. Sakura blushed.

"Now come on, this will be fun!" Ino said.

_Uh oh._

**Short, sweet, and to the point, I say. Aren't you DYING to know what kind of dress that it? Isn't the suspense KILLING you? I'm so evil….**

**Anyways, I've got to stall for a while until I figure out what's going to happen at the dinner, so it might be a while before it comes up. Or, I'll write it really fast and disappoint everyone! What do you think?**

**Ciao!**


	11. A BIG Mistake Or Is It?

**Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay……..**

**Um, I have a confession to make….**

**I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT TO WRITE!!!!**

**Phew! That was easy. But seriously, this chapter is a bridge, because I couldn't just go right into the dinner. Hang in a little longer, and you'll read the dinner chapter. I guarantee you'll be surprised!!!!**

**I know I will be…. **

_I don't blame you for being you  
But you can't blame me for hating it  
So say, what are you waiting for?  
Kiss her, kiss her  
I set my clocks early 'cause you know I'm always late_

Sakura quickly snatched up her ringing phone. She was walking to school. Alone. For the first time in weeks.

"Hello?" she asked into the receiver.

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice came from the other end, sounding strangely muffled.

"What is it?" she said a little more snappishly than she should have. "What's wrong?" she asked in a gentler voice.

"Sakura, I'm sorry I wasn't there today. I'm sick and I woke up late. I won't be in school today." Sasuke explained.

"Oh, Sasuke! Are you okay?" Sakura asked, genuinely concerned.

Sasuke laughed softly. "Relax, Sakura, I'm fine! This is probably just a 24-hour bug. I'll be good as new by tomorrow."

"Well…." Sakura had stopped in her tracks. She was now trying to resist the urge to dash to Sasuke's house and take care of him.

"Sakura." Sasuke said in a slightly stronger, and definitely threatening voice. "If you take one step onto this property during the time school is in session, I will have the guards knock you out and forcefully escort you to school. They will not let you within a one mile radius of me for the rest of the week. So go. To. School."

"Fine, if you hate me caring so much!" Sakura replied, surprised Sasuke knew her so well.

"I don't hate you caring. But _I_ care about _you_ just as much. and I would hate to see you knocked out by the guards." Sasuke responded. Sakura couldn't help it, she burst out laughing.

"That's better." Sasuke said. "Now you better hurry up, or you'll be late. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Sasuke!" Sakura said a bit more cheerily. "Luv ya!"

"…."

Sakura closed the phone with such force she was afraid it was going to break.

"WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST DO?!?!?!?!?!?!!?" she screamed.

_No no no. this can't be happening! _her thoughts were panicky. _Okay. Okay. Maybe this isn't as bad as I think it is._

_**Right, it's a billion times worse!**_

_No, no. Maybe….maybe he didn't hear me!_

_**And that's why there was that big, awkward silence on the other end.**_

_Hey, it's possible._

_**No, it's not.**_

_What am I going to do!?!?!?!_

_**There's only one thing you CAN do!**_

_WHAT????_

_**Crawl into a hole in the ground and never come out.**_

……

_**What?**_

_Thanks for the input, but I was being SERIOUS!!!!_

_**So was I….**_

_Should I call him back?_

_**What? HELL NO! Are you crazy?!?!?! If you call him back now you'll look like a complete idiot!**_

_And that is different from now how, exactly?_

_**Good point.**_

_Any other ideas?_

_**Sorry. I'm fresh out. Peace!**_

_NO! COME BACK!!!_

………………………………….

Sasuke was frozen.

Completely and utterly in shock.

What. The. Hell. Just. Happened?

"Did Sakura just say…?" he muttered to himself. "Did she mean…?"

Sasuke had never had anything like this happen before. Well, not quite. He heard all his fangirls say I love you" to him abut a million times a day. But this was….different. This was Sakura.

_So what if she said it? Maybe it was just, you know, one of those things that people say but don't mean!_

_**Oh, that's a comforting thought! If she didn't mean it, why did she hang up so quickly?**_

_When someone proclaims there love to a person who doesn't respond within the next 2 seconds, it can be a pretty awkward situation. And, as I recall, you just sat there like a complete moron and didn't say anything._

_**Shit! Why did I do that? **_

_You didn't want to!_

_**Says who?**_

_You. Well, technically you didn't __say__ anything, but you get the point._

……__

_What?_

_**Maybe I wanted to say it.**_

_So why didn't you?_

_**She caught me off guard!**_

_Hey man, that's life!_

_**Oh shut up!**_

……………………

"Sakura, are you alright?" TenTen asked.

Sakura had finally made it to school, but she knew she must look terrible.

"Ohmygod! You're white as a ghost! What happened?" shrieked Ino.

"S-S-Sakura?" Hinata whispered worriedly.

"I….I…." Sakura began. The others leaned in excitedly.

"I don't know" Sakura finished helplessly.

"ARGH!" Ino screamed. "Sakura Haruno you tell us what happened THIS MINUTE!!!!"

Sakura flinched. "What?" she asked. "Why do I have to tell you?" she added defensively. The others looked positively shocked.

"Sakura, aren't we your friends?" asked TenTen quietly.

"Yes, but—." Sakura began.

"Don't you trust us?" Hinata demanded.

"Well, at times you can be—."

"No, no! Let's just forget it, Hinata, TenTen." Ino began dramatically. "If _Sakura_ doesn't want to tell her _best friends_ what is bothering her, then _Sakura_ doesn't have to."

Sakura smacked her hand against her head. _Leave it to me to have to deal with this along with everything else._ But this was not a time for self pity. Well, actually, it was. But she needed to tell someone, and these three were the only people she trusted…. sort of.

"Fine! I'll tell you! But you—can—not—tell—anyone!" Sakura said harshly. Immediately the three others leaned in again.

"Well, Sasuke called to tell me he was sick," Sakura started. However, she was interrupted by a passing Sasuke fan-girl.

"Oh give me a BREAK!" the girl said. "Sasuke probably just couldn't take another day staring at that hideous thing you call a face!"

"Shove it, Karin." TenTen responded. "Unless you don't want to _have_ a face anymore!" TenTen cracked her knuckles menacingly and glared daggers at Karin.

"Whatever, bunhead." Karin rolled her eyes. "Sasuke doesn't give a shit about Sakura, you know that as well as I do!"

"You're just jealous because every time a boy glances in your direction, they have this urge to grab the sharpest thing they can find and poke their eyes out." Ino retorted.

"At least people don't call me a slut!" Karin yelled.

"Maybe not to your face!" Hinata sneered.

Karin blinked. She expected this from TenTen and Ino, but to hear something like this from Hinata was a surprise. Something was up.

Karin took another look at Sakura. She supposed she was "pretty". But she could not see what made Sasuke take such a liking to her. Was bright pink hair really his style? she fingered her own flaming hair tentatively. Maybe….

"Hey! Are you going to leave or do we have to make you?" Ino's harsh voice cut through Karin's reverie like a knife.

"If I stand here much longer, I might start to look like you, so I'd better go." Karin said to the three girls.

"Yeah, and we wouldn't want to jeopardize your chances at getting the part of the monster in your next horror movie." Sakura mumbled. Karin froze.

"What did you say to me?" she asked in a low voice.

"You heard me." Sakura said a little loudly. "Or were my words a bit to complicated for you to understand?"

"You little _bitch!_"

"Takes one to know one!" (A/N. Okay, a lame comeback, but one that is just soooo effective, am I right?)

Karin's eyed narrowed until they were slits. "Watch your step, pinky." she growled. she stalked by Sakura, making sure to knock into her with her shoulder as she passed. The girls turned to watch her until she was out of earshot.

"Ignore her." TenTen said when they were sure Karin was gone.

"Yeah, she's like, she schools biggest slut. no one likes her, they're just afraid of her." Ino added.

Sakura shuddered. _With good reason_ she thought.

"Now," Ino continued in a businesslike manner, "what were you going to tell us?"

………………….

"Hey! Zaku!"

Zaku was leaning against one of the brick walls of the school. He looked up when he heard his name being called, not at all thrilled by who was calling it.

"What, Karin?"

Karin scowled at Zaku. "You're in a good mood."

Zaku stood straighter. "You want me to be all happy that you're here?" he asked.

"You could at least be a bit more grateful." Karin answered.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zaku demanded.

"We both have a common goal here, Zaku." Karin replied.

"Cut the cryptic crap and tell me what the fuck you're talking about!" Zaku yelled. Karin didn't flinch.

"Nasty tempers won't get you anywhere." she said in a falsely sweet voice.

"Whatever." Zaku started to walk away. He went a foot past her when she called to him.

"It concerns Sakura and Sasuke."

Zaku stopped in his tracks. "I'm listening."

"Say please." Karin said.

Zaku gritted his teeth. "Please." he spat the word out so quickly that, if Karin hadn't known what he was trying to say, she never would have recognized it.

"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Karin cooed evilly.

Zaku shuddered. _I really hate that bitch_.

"Are you going to tell me now?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know ALL the details, so I'm going to need your help. But Sakura was about to tell her three idiotic friends something big, so big Hinata was even riled up." Karin explained.

"Hinata? The quiet one?"

"Yeah. So I was thinking we could do a little….investigating." Karin smiled wickedly.

Zaku nodded. "I'll get on it. Those girls talk so loud you could hear them a mile away. And poor little Sakura thinks I forgot about her."

……………………..

"…and when I was saying goodbye I said…." Sakura was in the middle of her story, with all the other girls hypnotized by it. not one of them noticed the shadowy figure lurking just within earshot of them.

"I…..said….that….thatIlovedhim!" Sakura finished quickly.

Silence.

More silence.

Okay, this is getting awkward.

"WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Ino's voice rang loud and clear throughout the schoolyard. At once, every head swiveled to look at the commotion.

"N-nothing t-to s-s-see here." Hinata stuttered, waving her arms frantically. TenTen's mouth hung open.

"Oh, Sakura! How could you do that?" Ino moaned. "do you realize what this has done?"

"Why are you upset?" Sakura asked, utterly lost. "You're not the one that told your boyfriend you loved him!"

"Are you not seeing the chain of events this will lead to?" Ino asked. Sakura blinked.

"Well, Sasuke will obviously tell Shikamaru, Naruto, and Neji this information. Then they will start thinking that maybe we talked it over and all decided to tell them we loved them. Then they'll act awkward, become distant, and ultimately end up breaking up with us because they are afraid that if we tell them we love them they won't return our feelings!" Ino explained. "You are so selfish!"

Sakura was so stunned at this, she didn't even bother contradicting her friend.

"It's okay, S-Sakura. We'll get you th-through th-th-this." Hinata patted Sakura on the shoulder. TenTen was still frozen.

"I don't think you guys get it." Sakura said.

"What are you talking about?" Ino demanded.

"I….I think I meant it."

…………………….

"Hm, well this is quite interesting." Zaku chuckled softly.

"What is?" Karin asked sharply.

"It seems as though Sakura thinks she loves Sasuke." Zaku answered.

Karin's face broke out into an evil grin.

"Oh, this should be fun."

**YAY! INSPIRATION!!!**

**I'm happy to say I now know what I'm going to write and what is going to happen. I'm so proud of myself!!!!**

**By the way, that song was from Fall Out Boy's "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me"**

**Next time:**

**What would happen if Ino, TenTen, and Hinata told their men they loved them? Would the feeling be mutual? Or would their relationships be ruined? And poor Sakura has to face Sasuke. ** **What will she say? Is it over between them? And what are Karin and Zaku up to? All coming up!**

**Ciao!**


	12. How Will The Guys Respond?

**Well, it has been quite a while, hm?**

**So here are my brand new problems (I know you will all come hunt me down and kill me):**

**a. I have successfully forgotten my inspiration. Now, I have a general idea of what is going on, but next time I really should write it down. I guess I'll either have to remember, or wing it!**

**b. I have a lot on my hands now, so the chances of me updating fast are very slim. And, unfortunately, I was planning to have this be the last chapter before the dinner. So for all you waiting to see the dress (which, I'm proud to say, I have remembered), you'll just have to wait a little bit longer. Besides, some of you will probably be horribly disappointed with what I have imagined, so this might actually be a good thing (y'know, ignorance is bliss?).**

**Oh, and I would like to respond to a few people who reviewed for my last chapter.**

**0milica0: thank you for your very enthusiastic review. It is really great to know you loved the last chapter, because I personally did as well.**

**pinkprincess0210: Yes! My wonderful comebacks were appreciated by someone!**

**Mari Santoro: Yes, it is beginning to look like I'm just stringing you all along just to find out the dinner is cancelled. NO! I SWEAR THAT IS NOT WHAT I'M DOING! Although….Just Kidding! And yeah, my notes are quite funny aren't they? Ha ha, I'm so modest….but seriously, I'm glad you like them.**

**This is for ****sasusakuloverforever3**** as well as Mari Santoro: Yes, "I love you" are three very complicated words. If you are not sure how the person you are saying them to will respond, then it might be better not to say them. However, what if you really do mean it? Then would you say it? Poor Sakura….and poor Sasuke! How does one respond to their girlfriend saying "I love you" to them?**

**Cardboard: We can only hope that they meet that fate in the end….**

**RedMapleLeaf (yes, I know you reviewed chapter 4): I see your point. Sasuke does seem out of character, and that is one thing I was struggling with. I wanted to make him cold, but then it would be harder to make this a romantic dramady (comedy and drama, for those who didn't know) if he pretty much ignored Sakura swooning at him. Then again, Sakura is a little out of character too! At first she wasn't obsessed with Sasuke, she just wanted him GONE! So I guess my story is just one screwed up piece of fiction! **

**Oh, and you'll see the Sasuke you know….without the "cool".**

**And without further ado……**

Sasuke and Sakura

Sasuke was all better.

Well, sort of.

Physically he was no longer sick. A 24-hour bug that was all he had had. However, Sasuke did not feel like going to school the next day.

Or any day, for that matter.

Sasuke didn't know what to think. Sakura had said she loved him, but was that something he could simply brush off? Had she meant it? Sasuke groaned: what was he going to do?

Itachi poked his head into the room.

"Hey, Sasuke!" he said. "You're not sick, so get your lazy ass up! Don't you have to pick up Sakura?"

Sasuke winced at the sound of his girlfriend's name. He was lying down on his bed, but he slowly heaved himself up into a sitting position, his feet resting of the floor. He buried his head in his hands.

"What am I gonna do?" he moaned to no one in particular. But, since Itachi was there, he answered.

"About what?" Itachi asked. "I thought you were crazy about Sakura."

Sasuke's head snapped up. "I never said that!" he yelled. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"So what's the big deal? If you don't like her, get rid of her." he said simply, shrugging his shoulders. Sasuke looked horrified.

"I don't not like her! I do! But…oh it's complicated!" he finished.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Suuuure." He walked over and pulled up Sasuke's desk chair. He sat in front of his brother. "Look, if you like her, stay with her. If you don't, there is no use torturing yourself, and it will only end up hurting her in the end as well." Itachi stated simply.

"Here's a question," Sasuke spat, annoyed now at his brother's apathetical attitude, "what if I really like Sakura, but I don't want to face her because just yesterday she told me she loved me? Hmmm? Got any answers Itachi?"

Itachi paused. "Do you still like her?" he asked.

"I—." Sasuke couldn't answer. He hadn't thought about whether or not he still liked Sakura, he was only focused on how humiliating it would be to see her after what she had said.

"Sasuke, if you want to have a girlfriend you have to stop being selfish." Itachi said. Sasuke looked up, surprised. "You think it will be hard for _you_ to face Sakura, just think about how _she_ must be feeling! And besides, if you still like her there is really no reason for you to not want to see her! I mean, _obviously_ she likes you." Itachi's mouth twitched at this last. He got up from the chair and left Sasuke to think about this.

After a few minutes, Sasuke stood, his mind made up. He grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.

……………………….

Sakura was pacing nervously inside of her house. She glanced at the clock once….twice….three times, each time growing more and more worried.

She hadn't decided to walk to school, but as the minutes ticked by she wondered if that was a stupid decision.

"Oh, I was stupid to think he would still want to be with me!" Sakura cried to herself. "Way to go, Sakura! Completely screwing up your relationship with Sasuke! I'm such an idiot!"

She stole a look at the clock one last time: if she left now, she would barely make it to school on time.

_How could you even think he would want to drive you anymore?_

_**I don't know….I thought that maybe….**_

_He loved you back?_

_**I guess I really am an idiot.**_

Sakura locked the door behind her. Even though she didn't have time to dawdle, she walked slowly down the sidewalk, a glimmer of hope still remaining.

She heard a car horn and spun around, her heart racing. But it was only an angry driver honking at a person who had just cut him off. Sakura sighed.

_**That settles it; I'm an idiot for sure.**_

Sakura walked dejectedly down the street: head down, pace slow. She heard another car horn, and thought angrily to herself that the driver should just accept the fact that other people are rude enough to cut them off and move on with their lives.

The car horn became louder, and Sakura grew angrier.

Finally, she heard a shout from a driver and spun around, ready to curse the man out if she really had to.

To her surprise, Sasuke was pulling up a few feet behind her and getting out of his car.

_What the…?_

"Hey, Sakura," called Sasuke, jogging ever so slightly to catch up to her, "Did you think I forgot about you or something?"

When he reached her, Sasuke put his arm around her waist and gave her a short kiss on her mouth. He pulled back and smiled at her, his arm still around her.

Now Sakura was really confused.

"Uh, I guess I just….thought you….forgot?" It came out as more of a question than a statement of fact.

Sasuke chuckled. "Now why would I forget you?" he asked, amused. He kissed her hair. "It's nice to know you have such confidence in my mental stability."

Sakura didn't even bother to answer, but instead changed the subject. "So, are you feeling well?" she asked politely.

Sasuke frowned. "I would feel a lot better if you would tell me what's wrong." he said.

Sakura was surprised. "Sasuke, nothings wrong!" she said.

"Sakura, I know you. You're not acting normal." Sasuke said, tilting her head back to look at her. "First, you don't wait for me to give you a ride. Then, you act all surprised when I finally catch you. And now, you're asking me if I feel better?" Sasuke's voice contained only a hint of disgust. "Where's my girlfriend, and who are you?"

Sakura was taken aback and hurt, but she didn't want to show it. Instead, she broke away from him and placed her hands on her hips. "Well sorry I care, Sasuke. Sorry I'm concerned about you. Maybe you would like it better if I never talked to you again!" she spat.

"What's with you?" demanded Sasuke. "Why are you being so defensive? I just want to know what's wrong!"

"Do you honestly not know?" cried Sakura. "Do you honestly not know a single reason _why_ Iwould be acting so strange?"

Sasuke groaned. "Sakura, if this is about what you said on the phone…."

"Yes, it is about that Sasuke!" Sakura was close to tears now. "Don't you see that I'm upset about it?"

She paused in her tirade to really look at Sasuke. To her amazement, he looked hurt. No, even more than that. He looked…._disappointed_.

_**He thinks we don't like him anymore! He thinks we didn't mean what we said!**_

_Well, did we?_

…__

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly. She placed a hand on Sasuke's arm, and he didn't move away. But he didn't look at her either.

"Sasuke I….I just."

"Sakura," He stopped her. "I don't care. I don't care what you said on the phone. I know this must be embarrassing for you, but can't _you_ see that I don't care if you said that? I still like you, and I still want you to be my girlfriend." Sasuke finally looked at her, and Sakura saw in his eyes that he was telling the truth.

Sakura felt the tears welling up in her eyes spill over. She reached her arms out and Sasuke caught her in an embrace. "I'm sorry, Sasuke." she sobbed. "I do still want to be your girlfriend."

Sasuke stroked Sakura's hair. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I forgive you."

He kissed the top of her head and took her hand. "Now come on, we have to get to school."

Sakura wiped the tears off of her face and followed Sasuke into his car. He kissed her once more before starting the engine and speeding down the road.

Naruto and Hinata

Hinata was staring nervously at her blond boyfriend.

Ever since Sakura had admitted that she loved Sasuke, she had been wondering if she felt the same way about Naruto. And, more importantly, if he felt that way about her.

Logically, she had made a list of Naruto's pros and cons.

**PROS**

**1. He was cute**

**2. He was funny**

**3. He was nice**

**4. He wasn't an idiot**

**5. He always supported her**

**6. He never made fun of her**

All in all, the list of his pros stretched on for 4 and a half pages. His cons, on the other hand….

**CONS**

**1.**

**2.**

**3.**

**4.**

She couldn't think of one thing wrong with Naruto. She thought he was perfect, absolutely perfect. Maybe she did love him….

But before she knew for sure, she would have to make sure he felt the same about her.

……………………………

Naruto was sitting in front of the school, eating ramen out of a Styrofoam cup. When Hinata made up her mind to talk to him, she automatically became nervous. She could feel her face turning red and her hand s begin to sweat.

_I can't do this….I can't!_ The voice inside of her head that usually made her chicken out was acting up again. But then….

_**Don't think that way, Hinata! You can do this!**_

_What the…? Who are you?_

_**I'm the voice that makes you confident! Lately I haven't been doing my job very well, but it's time for me to start working! **_

_And your point is…?_

_**My point is that Hinata is going to go over there and ask Naruto how he feels about her!**_

All of a sudden, Hinata felt sure of what she wanted to do. Her face no longer felt flushed, her hands were dry, and she was not scared.

She marched right up to Naruto.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto said, putting down his ramen and standing up to greet her. "How's it going?" He asked after kidding her lightly on the chook.

And all that confidence disappeared.

"N-Naruto?" she stammered quietly.

"Yeah, Hinata?"

"C-c-could I a-ask you s-s-s-someth-thing?"

"Fire away!" he said with a big grin.

_**Come on! Just ask him!**_

_No!!!!! He'll just say no! Walk away now and you can still save face!_

_**Are you going to live all your life as a coward?!**_

_Yes, actually, that was the plan!_

…__

_What?_

_**You are so pathetic….**_

_Hey!_

_**Well it's true! Here's a girl who gets frightened just thinking about considering maybe trying to possibly **_**look**_** at her boyfriend!**_

_Well if you put it that way….but maybe we like the way we are!_

_**Really? Do you actually enjoy living every moment in fear and uncertainty?**_

_No…._

_**Then don't! Hinata, ASK HIM!**_

"Naruto, how do you feel about me?" Hinata demanded.

Naruto blinked, surprised.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What I mean is," Hinata took a deep breath; "well….let's say someone…..better wanted to go out with you. Would you dump me for her?"

"Hinata," Naruto said, "there's no one better than you! I would never leave you, for anyone!" He kissed her right on the lips. "You're perfect for me."

It took all of Hinata's willpower not to faint, not now. It was too perfect a moment for her to miss.

Neji and TenTen

It wasn't that TenTen didn't have the guts to ask Neji how he felt about her, it was just that she didn't know how he would respond.

Though her tough exterior hid this, TenTen was actually a very emotional person. She already knew she loved Neji: she always wanted to spend every moment with him, and was usually thinking about him when he wasn't near her.

What she did not know was if he loved her.

Neji was not exactly…emotional. He never really told her how he felt about anything; though she knew he cared about her. Their relationship wasn't bad or anything; it just didn't involve many heartfelt talks.

And that was why she had no idea what to expect.

"How should I tell him?" TenTen wondered aloud while walking to meet Neji by his locker. "Should I be straightforward, or more subtle?"

TenTen always needed a battle plan. If she went in unprepared, who knew what she would start saying? One thing was for sure, it would be embarrassing and she would never be able to show her face ever again!

TenTen stopped before she turned the corner to Neji's locker. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and breathing slowly.

"Okay, okay" she said to herself. "You can do this, TenTen! Just go up to Neji and tell him…no, wait! Go up to him and _ask_ him….if…..if…"

"Ask me what?" came Neji's voice.

TenTen's eyes flew open. She nearly screamed, but managed to calm herself.

Well, almost.

"Oh, hey Neji! Nice day isn't it?" she gave a feeble, fake laugh.

"Uh, sure." said Neji.

"Um, yeah, so….you know." TenTen said weakly. Neji raised an eyebrow: what was going on?

"Is everything okay?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Wha—? Oh, yeah, everything's fine!" TenTen lied. Neji caught on.

"TenTen, why are you so nervous? You know you can tell me anything." He said, putting a reassuring hand on TenTen's shoulder.

TenTen had only one option. She was not ready for this talk, but she had to have it.

She would have to tell him everything.

_I'm sorry Sakura, please forgive me._

"Neji…." she began. He held up a hand.

"TenTen, I can tell you right now, you don't want to tell me anything." Neji said. "I can see that you were just about to tell me something you shouldn't have, and I don't want you to have that on your conscience."

"What?" said TenTen, surprised.

"TenTen," Neji sighed. "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, but didn't know how."

TenTen had no idea what was going on, but decided to roll with it.

"Yes, Neji?" she said softly.

Neji took her hands. "TenTen, I know I'm not the most expressive person in the world, but I really want you to know how I feel right now."

_WTF?!?!!? Did he have an epiphany or something? Not that I'm complaining…._

"TenTen, you are the most special person in my life, and I never want anything to happen that would separate us….ever." Neji's brilliant white eyes locked on TenTen's soft amber ones.

"Oh Neji, I'm so glad you said that!" cried TenTen, locking her arms around her boyfriend. "I fell the same way!"

When she leaned back, she saw he looked relieved.

"Great to hear it." he said. "Now we had better get to class." He kissed her once and took her hand, leading her down the hall to their homeroom.

Shikamaru and Ino

Ino was sitting next to Shikamaru, the look of someone contemplating a serious decision on her face.

Shikamaru, for his part, was leaning back in his chair, feet up on his desk, eyes closed.

_Hmm, I wonder if Shikamaru loves me…_ Ino wondered. She shrugged. _Guess I might as well find out._

She was about to tap him on the shoulder to ask him, but something stopped her. What if he didn't love her? What if, because she asked, he broke up with her? The thought made her gasp in fear: she couldn't lose Shikamaru, she couldn't!

Ino and Shikamaru had been together the longest of any of their friends. When Ino first came to the school, she immediately caught the eye of every boy in the school with her long blond hair and sky-blue eyes. However, most of them couldn't handle her…..enthusiastic personality, and stayed far away.

Shikamaru, however, had been different. His last attitude eventually seemed to wear on her, a little. And her energy had given him a bit more life. Now, she was calmer and he a bit more active.

They suited each other, to say the least.

Before now, Ino had never really thought about their relationship. When they first started dating, she thought it would be a short-term high-school romance: a lot of fun, and it would hurt when it ended, but it wasn't a serious thing.

Now, however, they were going on their third year of dating, and she still had no idea how he felt.

_I guess it's now or never!_ she thought to herself.

"Shikamaru," she said. "Do you love me?"

No reaction.

"Shikamaru?" Ino's voice contained a trace of panic. "Shikamaru!"

"Huh..wha?" Shikamaru said, sitting up at the sound of Ino's shout. "'Sup?"

It was clear to Ino that he hadn't heard her. But she couldn't bring herself to ask again and re-risk humiliation and pain.

"Oh…nothing." she said, turning away quickly. Shikamaru resumed his position.

Ino was wrong: he had heard her perfectly. He was expecting it, too: Sasuke had confided in him and only him about what Sakura had told him. Sasuke knew he could trust Shikamaru to keep his secret.

_Apparently Sakura trusts Ino as well…_ Shikamaru thought to himself.

Even though he knew Ino would ask, he wasn't prepared to answer. He looked over at Ino's long, swinging blond hair and sighed. The two had been together for a ling time, yes, but so what? Did he actually have feelings for the over the top, energetic, talkative girl he had been with for three years?

Maybe it was time for a change. Maybe he should move on. Maybe he was just being stupid and should forget any of this ever happened.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and fell asleep for real.

**So…how was it? Much longer than I usually do, put I wanted to jam-pack this chapter with so much stuff, seeing as you may be disappointed by the next one. I'm sorry I keep saying that…but I really seem to have writer's block! Oh well, since I'm on vacation, maybe I'll have a sudden inspiration.**

**Just a side note, I hope no one thinks this is anywhere near the end of this story! I've been wondering why there is so much hype over the dinner, as that isn't even the most critical point in the story. Sure, it is **_**one**_** of them, but there is so much more I have to do.**

**I'm not going to give you a preview of what is to come, of course, because that would spoil everything!**

**Personally, I really like this chapter. I had fun writing about all the different couples, although I kind of changed their personalities. Oh well, I'm having fun, so don't mind me!**

**Until next time!**

**Ciao!**


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